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President Droupadi Murmu's Aide-de-Camp Rishabh Sambyal reveals how the ADC train to protect the President
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Rishabh Sambyal describes rigorous training for ADCs, involving carrying heavy weights, deprivation of basic needs, observational tests to enhance alertness.
Rishabh Singh Sambyal served as President Droupadi Murmu's Aide-de-Camp (ADC) before taking premature retirement after 12 years in the Army. Days after his retirement made headlines, Rishabh spoke openly about the difficult call in a new interview with Raj Shamani.
The episode, released on September 10, touches on various responsibilities and roles Rishabh Sambyal had as the ADC, including how he and the ADCs train to stay alert and ensure the President of India's safety.
Aide-de-Camp's training to become more alert
According to the former ADC, to ensure the President's safety, the entire 1 km area around her is sanitised – meaning no arms, no metal, and no other dangerous materials.
As for whether he and the other ADCs train themselves to become more alert, Rishabh admitted as much, detailing what the training entails. “During a probation, so you're roughly carrying around 80 to 70 kgs on yourself. You're deprived of water, you're deprived of food, and you're deprived of sleep for 30 to 40 days,” he explained.
“And then, you are made to take a walk, roughly around a kilometre in a circular route. While you're doing this, in between random places, there are things kept, say for example we keep a helmet behind a tree, and when that finishes, there's a test: what did you observe? That is how we train,” he added.
What are ADCs' day-to-day responsibilities?
Apart from the training schedule, Rishabh was also asked to elaborate on his day-to-day responsibilities, since he is the closest person to the President. He shared, “Everything. I would say presidential requirements, which can be official or unofficial. So we look after everything. Say, for example, the President wishes to speak to the Prime Minister. She will call us, tell us that she wants to speak to the Prime Minister. So we will call up their people, I will speak to the Prime Minister, he is there…then she speaks.”
The mother-son bond
During the podcast, he also touched on the incredible bond he shares with the President, as many call them a mother-son duo. He shared, “The first time I met the President, it felt like my mother was standing in front of me. Since 2014, I've never lived with my mom. I always used to go back home for a couple of days, live with her and then again bye-bye for the next six or seven months, and then see her after six months.”
However, while he was President Murmu's ADC, he spent the entire three years with the president. “The nature she has was very homely. And I just built a connection. And the warmth which she showed upon us, to me and to all the ADCs, was wonderful. And it used to make me miss my mom,” he added.
Meanwhile, at present, Major Navya Shekhawat serves as an Aide-de-Camp (ADC) to President Droupadi Murmu, making history as the first woman officer to hold this prestigious role.
