Delhi: Missing boy reunited with family after two years

NEW DELHI: A 12-year-old who was missing for the past two years was rescued from a gurdwara in north Delhi. This was after a man he had spoken to spotted his photograph on a police ‘hue and cry’ notice and alerted the anti-human trafficking unit of the Crime Branch.

The boy’s uncle had registered an FIR for kidnapping in February 2017 after the boy had gone missing while returning from school in Narela. A probe had revealed that the child, who was originally from a village near Shamli in Uttar Pradesh, had run away from school. He was in his school uniform and a photograph of him was put up along with the notice. His uncle had told the police that he was unhappy after being brought to Delhi for studies.

“The case was transferred to AHTU and teams were sent to Haridwar, Meerut, Mumbai, Roorkee, Kerala, Shamli and Saharanpur. All efforts were made, including declaring a cash reward of Rs 50,000, but the child was not found,” said additional CP (crime) Rajiv Ranjan.

The child had a pretty tough existence. He did odd jobs, ate from gurdwara langars, and slept on footpaths outside gurdwaras. Recently, a devotee at Sisganj Gurdwara at Chandni Chowk met him while he was begging for food. He took pity on the child and helped him, even striking up a conversation with him. A few days later, the same person spotted his photograph in a notice at Delhi railway station and alerted AHTU on the contact number provided.

A police team went to the gurudwara and rescued him. During counselling, he told the police that he was not good in studies and was often rebuked by his uncle and aunt. On the day he had fled, he was scolded by his uncle, which he took to his heart and decided to live alone.

The child was then produced before a child welfare committee. Once the counselling ended, he was handed over to his uncle on Wednesday.