Telangana: Aadhaar reunites teen with family after 3 years

HYDERABAD: A teenager left home on a bicycle to attend school and went missing from Sarapaka village in Bhadradri-Kothagudem district in 2018. Three years later, his fingerprint in Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) database helped him re-unite with his parents. Ironically, the teenager failed to recognise his parents as he apparently has memory loss.
Madhapur police said a few days ago UIDAI authorities informed them that a teenager, Surya, applied for Aadhaar card, but their fingerprint records show that an Aadhaar was already issued to him a long time ago.
Based on the Aadhaar number and other details shared by UIDAI authorities, Madhapur police contacted Bhadradri-Kothagudem police, who found that his name is Sandeep and not Surya. “Kothagudem police informed us that there was a missing case about Sandeep, which was registered in 2018 by his parents. Since the boy was not traced, the district police closed the case. We contacted the boy’s father and called him to the city,” Madhapur SI K Rajendra told TOI.
His father, Karunakar, immediately came to the Madhapur police station and shared Sandeep’s Aadhaar card, their ration card and other details, including the boy’s photo.
When Sandeep went missing, he was 16 years old and studying class 9. “How Sandeep reached Hyderabad is a mystery. Three years ago, one day he walked up to one Manjula at Sheikpet and sought her help to find him a job, claiming that he is an orphan. Manjula gave him shelter. He used to do odd jobs. Recently, the teenager decided to relocate himself to Chennai in the hope of finding a better job. He was told by someone that Aadhaar will be sought to get any job. It was for this purpose he applied for Aadhaar,” police said.
For Karunakar, the joy of reuniting with his son Sandeep was short-lived as the teenager claimed he did not recognise his father. Karunakar could not take this shock and broke down. He even recalled their past memories, but the teenager failed to recall anything.
“The boy forgot his past, reportedly after suffering an injury. Sandeep, when asked about Bhadradri-Kothagudem, claims he remembers visiting the temple several times, but he cannot recognise Karunakar. However, the boy was handed over to his father, who took Sandeep to Kothagudem,’‘ police added.