A five-year-old boy who had wandered too far from home was reunited with his family within three hours of being found by the police, despite the boy’s inability to communicate his personal details, last week.
According to the Shanti Nagar police, the boy was seen crying by the side of the road near the old octroi post in Bhiwandi around 10.30 a.m. on Tuesday. “A constable with the Thane Control Room saw the boy on his way to work and brought him to the police station, as the area falls in our jurisdiction. We tried asking him about himself, but all he could tell us was that his name was Ayat and that he stayed with his nana and nani (maternal grandparents),” police sub-inspector Tukaram Sakunde said.
The boy was given snacks, after which Mr. Sakunde, and some women constables — to make the boy feel comfortable — set out with him. “The team took the boy to several areas close to where he was found. In the meantime, we also circulated his picture on WhatsApp groups, seeking any information about him,” senior police inspector Mamta D’Souza said.
When these methods did not yield any results, the police decided to seek help from the local grapevine. A few people in the area, who were known to be in daily contact with a large number of people and hence were the go-to people for local gossip, were contacted. “Within an hour, Ayat’s grandfather, an autorickshaw driver who stays in Shanti Nagar, came rushing to the police station,” Mr. Sakunde said.
The police then made inquiries and confirmed that Ayat indeed stayed with his mother and grandparents, and that his father stayed away from the city for work. Inquiries also established that the boy had wandered off while he was playing outside his house and, on finding himself in an unfamiliar area, started crying.