Why Can’t You Touch President Murmu? Ex-ADC Rishabh Singh Sambyal Reveals Security Rules

From monitoring the President’s surroundings to managing official communication, an Aide-de-Camp must remain constantly alert to potential risks. Former presidential ADC Rishabh Singh Sambyal has now offered a glimpse into the security protocols, physical training and personal sacrifices involved in the role.

Sambyal, who recently announced his premature retirement after 12 years in the armed forces, discussed his three-year tenure with President Droupadi Murmu during an appearance on Raj Shamani’s Figuring Out podcast.

Why Physical Contact With President Is Prohibited

Explaining why visitors cannot ordinarily shake hands with the President or touch her feet, Sambyal said security personnel cannot assume that everyone approaching the head of state poses no threat.

“You don’t know the intentions of the individual,” he said. “How can you trust the person who is on the other side?”

According to Sambyal, caution extends even to seemingly routine details, including the President’s drinking water. “You don’t know who has kept it there. You don’t know if something is there...” he said.

He claimed that security agencies sanitise the area around the President, sometimes extending up to one kilometre, to prevent the presence of weapons, metal objects or other potentially dangerous material.

How Officers Are Trained To Remain Alert

Sambyal said officers undergo physically and mentally demanding exercises designed to sharpen their observation skills under extreme stress.

“During a probation, you’re roughly carrying around 70 to 80 kg on yourself. You’re deprived of water, you’re deprived of food, and you’re deprived of sleep for 30 to 40 days,” he said.

He described an exercise in which trainees must walk along a circular route while noticing objects placed at unexpected locations.

“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,” Sambyal said.

The exercise, he explained, tests whether officers can continue registering details in their surroundings despite exhaustion, hunger and sleep deprivation.

What A Presidential ADC Does

An ADC serves as a close military aide to the President and assists with official engagements, schedules and coordination. Sambyal said the job also required him to manage requests that arose during the President’s daily routine.

“Everything. I would say presidential requirements, which can be official or unofficial. So we look after everything,” he said.

Giving an example, Sambyal explained how an ADC could facilitate communication between the President and the Prime Minister.

“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... and then she speaks,” he said.

The position placed him close to the President throughout the day, but the responsibility also restricted his ability to lead an ordinary life outside work.

‘I Couldn’t Go Out As A Normal Human Being’

Sambyal described his tenure as an honour that came with significant personal costs.

“While I was serving with the President, I couldn’t go out as a normal human being and enjoy life,” he told Shamani.

After completing three years as President Murmu’s ADC, he eventually decided to leave the armed forces. Sambyal has previously said he spent months considering premature retirement and regarded it as one of the most difficult decisions of his life.

His account presented the role as a continuous responsibility in which official requirements, security considerations and unpredictable demands took precedence over personal time.

A Bond That Reminded Him Of His Mother

Despite the pressures of the position, Sambyal spoke warmly about his relationship with President Murmu. Recalling their first meeting, he said he felt as though “my mother was standing in front of me”.

Sambyal explained that his military career had kept him away from his family for long periods.

“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,” he said.

Living and working closely with President Murmu over three years gave him a sense of familiarity that he had missed while serving away from home.

“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,” Sambyal said.