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Journospy Exclusive
By Soumitra Nandi
correspondent@journospy.com
Kolkata: This can well be the script of a popular Bollywood flick. A septuagenarian who had gone missing from his family members at Bokaro Steel City in Jharkhand was reunited with his family right in the heart of the city after 22 long years. Kudos to the efforts from a team of efficient Samaritan cops from the Taltala police station in Central Kolkata.
On January 29, the police came across a vagabond looking old man writhing in pain inside Haji Mohammad Mohsin Square under Taltala police station area in Central Kolkata. Additional officer in charge Santanu Majumder, and two sub inspectors Atindra Mondal and Sunil Debntah didn’t waste any time and admitted the old man at Calcutta Medical College Hospital.
“We took up the challenge that we should find out his family members. We came to know that recently he was working as a cleaner with a wayside hotel in Esplanade area. But he had to stop work because he developed a backache. Following this he lost his job and from January onwards he started begging in footpaths,” said an officer of Talatala police station.
The septuagenarian was unable to recollect anything about his family members. His photographs were circulated in a number of missing portals and also through internet but there was no clue. A non-governmental organization turned up to take the responsibility of the man after he became fit. They talked with him and came to know that he once hailed from Nalanda in Bihar.
“Armed with this clue we showed his photographs to some Biharis’ working in hotels adjacent to where this man worked. There a middle-aged man of Nalanda district identified him and provided his address. A team of officers from our police station went to Nalanda only to learn that the family had left for Bokaro Steel City in Jharkhand long time back. We took the help of Bokaro police and traced his address at Bokaro Steel City,” said an officer.
We got the phone number and the man’s daughter Chandni picked up the phone. We asked her to immediately come to the city and narrated the entire story. Chandni along with the man’s son Sahajad Pervez arrived in the city on February 27 and took their father Abul Hossain along with them.
“When father went missing mother had said that I was a toddler. Sahajad was only 11 years old. We had never hoped that we will get him back,” said Chadni as tears of joy rolled down her cheeks.
According to police sources, Abul who used to work at Bokaro Steel plant was suffering from mental depression. He took voluntary retirement in the year 1990. In 1993 he suddenly left his home.
“We cannot tell you where he has been in these 22 years. We will also not try to find it out. What gives us joy is the fact that we have been able to unite him with his family members,” said an officer.