Patna boy seeks help to reunite with parents having dodged kidnappers
Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Bulandshahar (Uttar Pradesh), Dec.4 (ANI): Sandeep Choudhary of Patna despite escaping from the clutches of his kidnapper four years ago has not been lucky enough to reunite with his parents till date. Blame it on fate or officials' disinterest, the boy is leading an orphaned life.  

The 12-year-old claimed to be from Phoolvari Sharif in Patna, has literally been on the run from one place to another enduring exploitation to the hilt. It was during last escapade that he met Kapil Bhardwaj of Bulandshahar in Uttar Pradesh in late September who accorded the boy a safe haven at his home. 

Kapil was shocked to learn that the hungry boy dressed in worn out clothes was actually roaming around in search of his lost parents for past four years.  

"I thought that this child will be lost again and someone might get hold of him. So I thought it is better to bring him back home with me and registered an FIR at the Police Station. After that I told my elder brother about him," said Kapil Bhardwaj, the caretaker of Sandeep Chaudhary.  

Sandeep claims that his father's name was Dileep Choudhary, who worked as driver in the Indian Railways and his mother was a lawyer in Patna. Bihar police is yet to verify the boy's claims.  

He is presently putting up at Salawatnagar Gangawali that falls under the B.B. Nagar Police Station in Uttar Pradesh's Bulandshahar District. Kapil and his elder brother are taking care of the child.  

Following the boy's recollection of the location in Patna, several appeals for help to local leader(MLA), Special Superintendent of Police and others have been made but all in vain.  

According to Kapil's family, a copy of the FIR (first information report) was also sent to Phoolvari Sherif Police Station in Patna. The local station house officer (S.H.O) of the stated area has confirmed the location but could not find the boy's parents.  

"We registered a complaint at the police station, but they did not want to take responsibility. They didn't try anything on their own. We informed the SSP (Special Superintendent of Police) of Ghaziabad. But they said there was nobody in the village with that name," said Mahendra Sharma, the other caretaker of Sandeep.  

"Had the administration tried to contact the Superintendent of Police of Patna and Ghaziabad and our local police station also taken interest in it, the boy could have been reunited with his parents," he added.  

Meanwhile, Sandeep says that four years ago he was kidnapped while playing cricket near his house in Phoolvari Sharif in Patna. He was eight when a man took him along after alluring him for a fair. He could not recall his house's exact location.  

"I was kidnapped four years ago while playing cricket at a place close to my home. A stranger asked me to come along to visit a fair. He took me with him in an auto-rickshaw and thereafter by train to some place. At the fair, I heard him talking to somebody about selling me. So, I just managed to run away," said Sandeep Choudhary, the orphaned boy.  

Sandeep worked almost three years at a hotel. On asking for his dues, he was scolded and thrown out of the hotel by the owner. (ANI) -AJ