Mumbai: 14-year-old boy from Nepal reunited with family after 10 months

Ten months after a 14yearold boy from Nepal left his home took multiple buses and trains to reach Mumbai where he was rescued by police and sent to a childrenrsquos home authorities managed to reunite him with his father on FridayThe boy a Class VII student was rescued by police at Churchgate and brought to the Children Aid Societyrsquos Home in Dongri on March 10 last year stated a report in The Indian ExpressWithin four days of this the Covidinduced lockdown in the state and across the country prevented efforts to locate his parents for the next few months Authorities at the Home said that after being brought to the childrenrsquos home the boy said that he could not recall his home address or the phone numbers of his parents He told officials that he had left home and managed to get public transport through which he crossed the border and reached India From there he came to Mumbai a city he had heard of by changing multiple trainsMeanwhile his family had also approached the police in Nepal after failing to trace his whereabouts But there too the efforts to trace him were impeded by the lockdown in that country Home authorities said that during the lockdown they did not have much success in getting clues from him about his residence The breakthrough came after the lockdown was lifted when Omprakash Jadhav a probation officer at the Home along with other officials reached out to a Nepal citizensrsquo group in the cityA member of the group came to the Home last month and spoke to the boyldquoSometimes children who find it difficult to recall their home address or are reluctant about returning due to various reasons have to be made comfortable We asked for small clues such as the terrain near his house whether there were mountains water bodies whether public buses plied near his home Based on the descriptions the group reached out to people living in places in Nepal near the border as he had managed to find his way into India with easerdquo an official saidThe search led them to the missing complaint filed by the boyrsquos parents in Surkhet district of Nepal a fourhour ride from Nepalgunj on the border with Uttar Pradesh Officials said that once the boyrsquos father was traced from the complaint they called him An official said that they also learnt that the boy the only son of his parents had lost his mother during these ten months And the father did not have enough money to travel to Mumbai to be reunited with his sonAn NGO helped to raise money and coordinated with officials on both sides to bring the boyrsquos father to the city ldquoThe boyrsquos father came on Friday and we handed over the boyrsquos custody to himrdquo said Rahul Kanthikar the Homersquos superintendent adding that the reunion was filled with tears with both unable to speak much on seeing each otherDuring the lockdown over 40 children from various states and countries including Bangladesh and Nepal were stranded awaiting repatriation to their home countries and reintegration with their families in other states The process which is carried out through special juvenile police units had come to a standstill except in some cases where parents took private transport and reached the city to take their children back home Since the easing of restrictions most children have been repatriated but six children from Bangladesh await completion of procedures to return home