Father dead, mom in hospital, boy ‘adopted by UP thana’

MEERUT: “Where would I go now?” The question from a 14-year-old boy froze a police officer. “His mother had been referred to a hospital in Agra for treatment,” the Meerut cop said. She was trying hard to cope with the sudden loss of her husband in a road accident for the last two years. “But she sank,” said Sagar, station house officer (SHO) of the city’s Kankerkhera area. Father dead, mother off to a hospital with no word on when she would be normal again, Anmol had no one now, not even relatives.
SHO Sagar decided to take Anmol to his police station.

“At that moment I decided to take his responsibility. Without guidance, such children often take to the world of crime. And if we motivate him, he can have a bright future,” Sagar said. “His mother had come with a complaint three months ago. That was the first time we came to know about her. She was in bad health. We later got her admitted to district hospital. She has now been referred to mental hospital in Agra,” he said.
Anmol divides his time between his house and the ‘thana’ now.
“Anmol has a desire to study and do good in his life. I have spoken about his admission in some schools in the city,” the officer said. “He spends most of his time with us. We have been taking care of him,” another policeman said.
A recent video of Anmol cutting his birthday cake at the police station is winning the hearts of people on social media platforms.
Meanwhile, the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) has also taken note of Anmol. It has asked the SHO to appear before it.
“We learnt about the boy through media reports. We have sent two notices to the SHO to appear in person. He has been asked to appear before CWC on February 17 with all the information on the child,” said Anita Rana, a CWC member in Meerut.
“A team of councillors will also visit the police station on Monday to meet the boy,” she said.