Boy missing for three years finally reunited with family

New Delhi: Three years ago, Ruby* woke up on a hot summer morning and went to the other room of her shanty to wake up her son. Her worst fears as a parent came true when she discovered her son was missing. He had fled the house for the eleventh time in almost eight years.

Years after the ordeal that felt like decades to the family, Tuesday was like a new beginning. On Monday, Ruby’s son Tony* was rescued from Kozhikode in Kerala by NGO Bachpan Bachao Andolan.

However, the happy moment doesn’t come without its share of pain. Tony’s father says that the 16-year-old boy struggles with mental health issues, but his mother refuses to accept it. Her constant state of denial eggs the child on to do whatever he wants, the father laments.

Tony was five-years-old when Ruby and her husband first got to know about his mental condition. His father says they went from pillar to post to get treatment for his son, but was turned away from everywhere. “He ran away several times but was always found. We got his name and address tattooed on his arm that helped locate him from Bihar, Rajasthan, Noida, etc,” he says. “We had lost all hope this time, but thanks to the NGO’s help, we have our child back.”

As the parents work as an auto driver and household help, he claimed that no one took their plight seriously. “People make us feel like terrible parents. Even the police turn me away every time I try to lodge a complaint,” he said.

He also claimed that the doctors they could consult for Tony’s mental health told them nothing is wrong with him. “But we know we need institutional help to take care of our son, where we can periodically visit him to know that he is fine. You have to understand how dire a situation is, for a father to think like this,” he said.

Rakesh Senger, executive director at Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation (KSCF) said that his team was alerted one week ago about a boy who had his name and address tattooed on his arm. “Our state coordinators managed to track him down and managed to verify Tony’s identity,” Senger added.

(*Names changed)