Pithoragarh: Senior BJP leader and former Union Minister of State Meenakshi Lekhi has returned to India after sustaining injuries during the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra. Officials confirmed on Sunday that she fell from a horse in Darchin, Tibet, prompting her early return from the pilgrimage.

Lekhi was part of the second group of Indian pilgrims journeying to the sacred Mount Kailash and Mansarovar Lake. The mishap occurred in Darchin, the starting point of the parikrama, where she fell from a horse and was hurt during the trek.

Following the incident, Chinese authorities escorted her to Lipulekh, from where she was received by personnel of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and brought back to the Gunji camp in India, officials said.

Pithoragarh District Information Officer Santosh Chand said, "The injured devotee (Lekhi) in Darchin was taken to Lipulekh by Chinese officials, from where Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel brought her to Gunji camp."

Darchin is the point from where the parikrama (circumambulation) of Mount Kailash and Mansarovar Lake begins.

Officials said the district administration was awaiting a window of clear weather to airlift her, but due to continued adverse conditions, she will be flown out on Monday.

Dharchula Sub-Divisional Magistrate Jitendra Singh said Lekhi will spend the night in Gunji.

"In Gunji, she is under the supervision of ITBP doctors. She will leave Gunji in the morning by helicopter," he said.

PTI