NEW DELHI: A 12-year-old boy, who had left home in anger after getting thrashed by his parents and had been living in a shelter home at Haridwar for the past eight months, was reunited with his relative after being identified by a fellow student from his previous school when his picture was shown in an online class. The child was scared to return home, so he had given a false name to the officials at Haridwar.
In the first week of September, a policeman on a visit to a children’s home in Jahangirpuri was informed that a 12-year-old boy was living at the shelter home in Haridwar for the past eight months. The coordinator of the home had even requested the authorities in Delhi to trace his parents.
When cops from the anti-human trafficking unit of Northeast district interacted with the child over a video call, he gave his name as Vikas. He mentioned that he had studied in a school at Vijay Vihar. When the nearby police stations were contacted, they reported no kidnapping or missing report. On inquiry, the school at Vijay Vihar told police that no such child had studied there.
DCP (Northeast) Ved Prakash Surya said, “The school was asked to flash the boy’s photo during online classes. A child soon identified him as Sarthak, a student of Class V. Records of the school showed him to be a resident of Rithala, but the address mentioned had been vacated by his parents. His uncle, a constable with ITBP, was then traced, who appeared before a court in Haridwar and took his custody.”
“The child’s parents are yet to be found. When we traced his uncle, he was unaware that the boy was in a shelter home. The constable had not been in touch with his sister and brother-in-law for over a year,” the DCP added.
In the first week of September, a policeman on a visit to a children’s home in Jahangirpuri was informed that a 12-year-old boy was living at the shelter home in Haridwar for the past eight months. The coordinator of the home had even requested the authorities in Delhi to trace his parents.
When cops from the anti-human trafficking unit of Northeast district interacted with the child over a video call, he gave his name as Vikas. He mentioned that he had studied in a school at Vijay Vihar. When the nearby police stations were contacted, they reported no kidnapping or missing report. On inquiry, the school at Vijay Vihar told police that no such child had studied there.
DCP (Northeast) Ved Prakash Surya said, “The school was asked to flash the boy’s photo during online classes. A child soon identified him as Sarthak, a student of Class V. Records of the school showed him to be a resident of Rithala, but the address mentioned had been vacated by his parents. His uncle, a constable with ITBP, was then traced, who appeared before a court in Haridwar and took his custody.”
“The child’s parents are yet to be found. When we traced his uncle, he was unaware that the boy was in a shelter home. The constable had not been in touch with his sister and brother-in-law for over a year,” the DCP added.
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