Cops and Google Maps help differently-abled boy reunite with family
A 16-year-old differently-abled boy who had left home in a village in Sambhal district three months ago and landed in a Noida shelter home was on Wednesday reunited with his family. "The reunion was made possible following a counseling session at the shelter home and efforts of Noida Police's Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU), who traced his village using Google Maps," they said.
Boy had left home without informing his parents
"The boy stated that three months ago he had left his home in Manni Kheda village of Aligarh district without informing his parents and wandered his way to reach Noida in Gautam Buddh Nagar," a police spokesperson said. "He landed here at Sai Kripa Shelter Home and during a counseling session recently was asked about his family," the spokesperson said.
He managed to remember the name of his village
"The differently-abled boy somehow managed to tell the names of his family members including his mother and father, as well as the name of the village to the counselor," the spokesperson added. "Soon after this, the AHTU in-charge inspector Devendra, and his team got to work and even used Google Maps to locate the village mentioned by the boy," the official further stated.
AHTU reached out to village headman through local police station
"The boy had said the village was in Aligarh but it turned out that the village was in Sambhal district," the official added. However, the task was still not complete. To ensure that the child actually belonged to Manni Kheda village, the AHTU team contacted the local Nakhasa Police Station in Sambhal and through them reached out to the village headman.
Village headman confirmed that a boy had gone missing
"When the information was shared with the headman, he confirmed that a boy of the same name as this one lived in the village but had gone missing three months ago," the police spokesperson said.
Boy's father reached Noida on Wednesday to take him back
"The AHTU team sent the boy's picture to the village headman who also contacted his family after which it was confirmed that the boy staying at Noida's shelter home was the one missing from Manni Kheda," the official said. "The boy's father reached Noida on Wednesday to take back his son to their home and necessary legalities were carried out," the official added.
