Runaway Bandra teen leads cops, CM's office on wild goose chase

Daulatbi Khan who runs an NGO holds up a phone with her son Aqibs photo PicsNimesh DaveA Bandra student sent the Mumbai Palghar and Jaipur police on a merry chase across states for five whole days and even got Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis office involved in hunting him down Aqib Khan 13 was finally located at his aunts home in Bihar However the events surrounding his disappearance are still a mysteryThe police and his mother Daulatbi Khan an acid attack survivor said the boy appears to be traumatised and hasnt said much since returningThe Std VI student of a wellknown school in Bandra Aqib had gone missing on April 13 from a relatives home in Nalasopara the area is under the jurisdiction of the Palghar police Daulatbi who runs an NGO for acid attack survivors was in hospital for a surgery when she received a call from an unknown caller saying he had spotted the boy wandering at Churchgate station and he seemed lostThe crucial callsldquoI got the call around 145 pm the man told me that he had found Aqib at platform number 4 I told him to take him to the government railway police office and stay there since I was in Vile Parle and would take a while to reach But a few minutes later when I called back on the number the phone was switched off I realised it was a Jaipur numberrdquo she saidThe next day Aqib called Daulatbi and told her he was in Hyderabad ldquoWhen he was talking to me I heard someone in the background say cut kar cut kar cut the call This made me suspicious I called back I was told the call has been made from a public phone at Jaipur station Desperate I contacted CM Devendra Fadnaviss office The chief ministers PA Mr Amol Patankar was told to look into the matter After that we lodged an FIR with the Nalasopara policerdquo she saidDaulatbi Khan at her residenceOn the teens trailDaulatbi said ldquoWithin two days on Saturday the police called saying that he was with the Jaipur police he had been found at the railway station But a few hours later we were told that he had given them the slip after saying he wanted to go to the toilet For the next two days the Mumbai police my family and friends tried locating him by contacting his friends but in vain On Tuesday around 330 pm I got a call from my sister in Bihar that Aqib had reached her home and was in a terrible state His clothes were dirty and he had eaten in two daysrdquoWhen asked how he got there Aqib said he got down at Patna station and walked four kilometres to reach his aunts home ldquoHe said thats all he remembered He appears stresshysed and hasnt spoken much We will try and get him to tell us what happened laterrdquo Daulatbi saidAn officer from Tulinj police station in Nalaspora said ldquoAn FIR under section 363 kidnapping is registered Our team was searching for him in Jaipur after the second call but on Tuesday we were told he had reached Bihar The child has said that he wants to live in BiharrdquoWhile Patankar was unavailable for comment sources in the chief ministers office said that they had received Daulatbis call and after the boy was found and they have verified the eventsSenior inspector of Tulinj police station Prakash Virajdar said ldquoThe child before leaving had also taken some cash from the houserdquo