Mumbai: MIDC police team traced and reunited an 11-year-old boy, Anis Khan, with his parents in Malvani on Wednesday — three years after he allegedly fled from his home after being scolded for not studying. Police said the boy had been staying at a Matunga child welfare institution for the past three years under a different name, Aman Sheikh.The breakthrough came after the team travelled across seven states and examined missing child record cases, and filtered at least 50 photographs of missing children from the CCTNS (Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems) site that resembled the boy. Police located him at a child welfare centre and reunited him with his family after his parents identified him.“His parents, who are daily wage earners, were very happy on learning about their child. The minor was initially found by Juhu police sub-inspector Wagh wandering at Juhu Chowpatty in 2023. After he failed to locate the boy’s whereabouts, he got him admitted to Sneha Sadan children’s orphanage in Andheri East then. However, the boy ran away from the orphanage and a kidnap case was registered. After tracing the boy, we learnt from him that he went to Uttar Pradesh from where he returned to Mumbai. While wandering in the city someone got him admitted into the Matunga children welfare centre,” said DCP Datta Nalawade.Nalawade said they received orders from the Mumbai commissionerate to track missing persons and child cases. He supervised three teams comprising ACP Yogesh Shirke, senior police inspector Ghanshyam Nair, police inspector (crime) Sunil Karande, police sub-inspector Sagar Hujare, Kiran Parbat and staff, and collected details of abducted children aged 5 to 15 years whose cases were registered in Maharashtra and other states, including Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka and UP, and railway police stations in 2023.“Information about missing and found children in India was also obtained through the CCTNS, ICGS portal, by contacting the Maharashtra Missing Persons Search Centre and Child Helpline No 1098. Finally, the team zeroed in on 50 missing children details that were filtered from CCTNS since 2023 and tracked the minor,” he said.The kidnap case was registered with the MIDC police on Oct 22, 2023, based on a complaint by Chanchal Prasad Nair, an employee of Sneha Sadan Children’s Orphanage, residing at Sneha Sadan Vinayalaya Campus in Andheri East. In the complaint, Nair said: “The minor boy, Anis Khan, was found wandering unattended at Juhu Chowpatty within the jurisdiction of Juhu police station. Police sub-inspector Wagh of Juhu police station, after an extensive search for the boy’s parents, and failing to find them, admitted him to Sneha Sadan Orphanage. The minor boy who was admitted to Sneha Sadan had left Sneha Sadan without informing anyone.”Upon receiving the complaint, police registered a case. “In connection with the said crime, there was no information available about the missing boy’s parents or his residence, which created obstacles in tracing the boy for the past three years. To search for the boy involved in the said crime, a special team comprising police sub-inspector Sagar Hujare and his squad was appointed as per the orders of the senior cops. The said team visited all children’s orphanages in Mumbai city and suburban areas and obtained photos and information of children aged 8 to 13 years who were admitted from 2023 to date. Accordingly, a matching photo of a minor boy admitted to the children’s reformatory in Matunga was obtained. Upon visiting the said location and inquiring about the photo, preliminary information was received that the boy in the Matunga institution was named Aman Sheikh,” said DCP Nalawade.The DCP said police also received information that the boy’s parents resided in Malvani. He said that when the minor boy’s photo was shown to his parents and aunt within the jurisdiction of Malvani police station, they identified him, confirmed he was their nephew, and said he had been missing since 2023.Police said the MIDC police station surveillance team traced the boy, who was registered under two different names for the past three years, using the obtained photograph, and handed him over to his parents.
