‘Have you seen him?’ Cycling along rail tracks, from Agra to Delhi, a father hunts for missing son
Believing that his 11-year-old son had boarded a train to an unknown destination, Satish Chandra, a farm worker in Hathras, is pedalling along train tracks, showing the photo of his son to passengers
Satish Chandra, a farm worker in Hathras, 60 km north of Agra, has been cycling along rail tracks for the past five months, going as far as Delhi, Jhansi, Kanpur and Bina in search of his 11-year-old son missing since June.
Forty-two-year-old Chandra who carries a photo of his son Godna has logged about 2,000 km so far. Godna was the only surviving child of Chandra and his wife after a daughter died of illness and a son was run over by a tractor.
Godna, who is mentally challenged and also suffers from impaired speech went missing on June 24. He was last seen near Madrak railway station in Hathras. Chandra lodged a police complaint but the cops failed to trace the boy.
Now, taking note of his plight, additional director general of police (ADGP) Agra zone Ajay Anand has taken up the matter with the Hathras police which has revived efforts to trace the missing boy.
Believing that his son had boarded a train to an unknown destination, Chandra began pedaling along train tracks, showing the photo of his son to passengers.
“Satish Chandra was in Etmadpur town here on Saturday and someone told him to contact me. I tweeted his problem and placed the complaint on the chief minister’s portal. Fortunately, ADG Agra Zone Ajay Anand has taken up matter with Hathras police,” said Naresh Paras, a social activist working for homeless kids in the region.
Susheel Ghule, superintendent of police in Hathras met Chandra on Sunday to know about his missing son.
“Satish Chandra, father of the missing boy, was contacted Sunday. Police teams have been constituted to search for the boy. The help of social media is also being taken. A police team would soon leave for Bharatpur where it is learnt that a voluntary organisation ‘Apna Ghar’ provides shelter to such mentally challenged kids,” said Ghule.
Godna had reportedly run away from home twice in the past but had returned. This time, his parents are still waiting.
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