Kolkata: A 12-year-old boy from Sonakhali, near the Sundarbans in the South 24-Parganas district of West Bengal, who is suspected to have been trafficked, was found in Rajasthan’s Ajmer, after three weeks later.
An official said locals at Ajmer found him at the railway station in a drugged state. Those accompanying him, seem to have fled after people got curious and started asking questions.
He added that the boy, a Class-VII student, had stepped out of home on the morning of September 12 to buy some snacks.
He said that his parents raised an alarm after he didn’t return home till late in the afternoon.
“They went to the Basanti police station where officers told them to submit a written application. No missing diary was lodged by the authorities though,” he said.
Ambarish Nag Biswas, Secretary, West Bengal Radio Club (WBRC) – an organisation of amateur radio enthusiasts who have been successful in reuniting hundreds of people with their families using their vast network across the country – said that the boy’s father was mentally shattered and went around the neighbourhood searching for his son.
“This was when he came across one Tapas Ghosh, a social worker, who is aware of the kind of work that we do. Ghosh got in touch with us and sent all the details of the boy, including his photograph. We circulated these to all contacts through our network,” he said.
Biswas added that a few days ago, he received a call from Rajasthan. “The man wanted to know if he is among those who reunite people with their families. He then spoke of a Bengali boy in his custody who seemed to be in an inebriated state. He was hesitant to approach the police, fearing persecution,” Biswas said.
“I immediately asked him for a video call in which the boy would be visible. He made the call and I could make out that the boy had been drugged. When the man hesitated to inform the police, I asked him to call Child Line, an organisation that takes care of such children. It then dawned upon me that the boy in the video resembled the one missing from Sonakhali. By the time I called the man back, Child Line had taken charge of the boy and placed him in a shelter home for such children,” Biswas said.
He added that from Child Line, he obtained the telephone number of Chanchal Care Home.
“Roshni, the supervisor at that Home, helped him and the father of the missing boy from Sonakhali connect via video call to the child under their care. The father and the boy immediately recognised each other. Roshni then said that a policeman from Basanti police station would have to accompany the father to Ajmer with relevant documents to collect the child,” Biswas said.
He said that after a lot of persuasion, the Basanti police station agreed to send personnel with the boy’s father to Ajmer to fetch the boy.
“They are now on the way back. I spoke to the boy. He said that a young man from the neighbourhood who he calls ‘Dada’ or elder brother, had offered him a chocolate bar after he left home. Immediately after having the chocolate, he felt sleepy and woke up on hearing unknown voices at a railway station. He will be back home on Monday,” Nag Biswas said.
–IANS