Good Samaritans from Karnataka reunite Jharkhand tribal with his family

MANGALURU: A group of like-minded youths from Belthangady taluk have managed to reunite a tribal man from Jharkhand state, suffering from a psychiatric disorder. He had reportedly gone missing from his native place six years ago.
Sulbu Sinku, 35, is a resident under the jurisdiction of Hatgamharia police station in West Singhbhum district in Jharkhand state. On Saturday, he was reunited with his family members, his wife and three children.
Pratheek Kotian, a resident of Ujire, who is part of the group of youngsters, said that Sinku came to Ujire about five years ago. For the first two years, an elderly woman used to feed him, but he kept roaming the streets.
Three years ago, a KSRTC bus driver named Narayana Poojary informed Abdul Latheef, who runs Sangam Hotel near Somanthadka about Sinku. Latheef came to his rescue and brought him to his hotel. Sinku was unable to converse. Latheef provided him with food, accommodation and employed him. Latheef deposited his salary separately.
A few weeks ago, his mental health started deteriorating. He was taken to Mangaluru-based psychiatrist Dr Kiran Kumar for medical help.
After diagnosis, he told them about a place called ‘Nurda’, when asked about his native land. The youth started to look for the place online, which was finally traced to Jharkhand, and they contacted the local police station, which later contacted Sinku’s family.
“We came into contact with Sinku’s jurisdictional police inspector Baleshwara Oran. He travelled to Sinku’s place and made a video call. Sinku's family members from a tribal village recognised him. They said that since he had been missing for many years, they thought he was probably dead. They made no attempt to search him and also filed no police complaint,” said Kotian. The issue was also brought to the attention of Dharmasthala police.
On February 3, Kotian, along with Mohammed Jaabeer, took Sinku to Bengaluru in a rented car after informing his family about their arrival.
Later, the trio flew from Kempegowda International Airport to Ranchi. Then they drove to Sinku’s native village, about 270 kilometres away from Ranchi. On Saturday, he was reunited with his family.
The travel expenses were borne by hotelier Latheef and the salary earned by Sinku in the last three years was handed over to his family.
Sinku’s wife remarried as there was no information on him. She is also pregnant at the moment.