Mumbai: mid-day helps trace missing Mahim youth

Ashraf Sayyed has been reunited with his mother Rehanna Sayyed at their Mahim home PicsBipin KokateMore than three months after a 20yearold went missing from his home in Mahim leaving his relatives worried that he had become involved in antinational activities it was a midday report that helped reunite the family yesterday After weeks of the AntiTerrorism Squad hunting for him his own boss a hotelier in Nashik identified him from a report in this paperAshrafs mother Rehanna is relieved her son is back homeAshraf Sayyed went missing on the night of February 27 just a day before his HSC exam midday had reported in April that the disappearing act triggered fears among his family and the police that the 20yearold had got involved in antinational activities What raised suspicions further was the fact that right before he left Ashraf would increasingly keep to himself While he was missing he kept in touch with relatives through private messages on Instagram but did not respond to online queries from the police The ATS cyber police Mahim police and even the Intelligence Bureau combined powers in their hunt for the youth but struggled to track him downAlso read Mumbai Family of Mahim youth who went missing before HSC exam want him to returnFinding AshrafThen on Wednesday Ashrafs family received a call that changed everything The caller identified himself as Laxman Jadhav proprietor of Sai Prasad hotel in NashikHe told the Sayyed family that Ashraf was working at his hotel and that he had identified the youth from the midday report about his disappearanceAlso read Lost in Kolkata Meghalaya youth reunites with family after 4 yearsAshrafs family immediately informed the police and then hotfooted it to Nashik Ashraf was finally reunited with his family in their Mahim home at 3 am on FridayFurther investigation has revealed that on February 27 Ashraf boarded a train from Dadar to Nashik where he met the hotelier JadhavSince he is a goodlooking boy and spoke good English I offered him a job as a waiter at my hotel I did not know that he had run away from home He began working at my hotel and used to live there as well I only wanted him to be safe thats why I offered him a job Jadhav told this reporterAlso read After 50 days missing Malwani man held in DelhiRecently when I was searching for a friend whose first name is also Ashraf I came across a link to a midday report about another Ashraf ndash a boy who had gone missing from Mahim When I saw the boys photo in the article I was surprised to see it was the same Ashraf who was working in my hotel said JadhavMemory lossJadhav had to take some effort before he finally managed to get the contact number of Ashrafs brother Fayyaz The Nashik hotelier Jadhav told midday I had asked Ashraf about his family and home but he claimed that he could not remember anythingAlso read 26yearold disappears after being dropped off at the Mumbai airportATS officials and the Mahim police got the same answer upon questioning Ashraf who kept telling them that he had left home because he was depressed but could not remember anything from the past He also claimed that he had no idea how he got to Nashik The police said they are yet to establish whether he is telling the truth or is hiding something