MUMBAI: Three years after he ran away from home to skip attending school, 11-year-old Anis Khan was reunited with his family in Malwani on Tuesday by MIDC police.
Event Context
Team Analysis
“It has been a challenge locating the boy over the past three years as there was no information of his parents, his residence or even his identity,” said Datta Nalawade, deputy commissioner of police of Zone 10, adding that to trace the boy, a special team led by police sub-inspector Sagar Hujre was formed recently.
The team began its hunt by cross-referencing records of all children aged between 5 and 15 years, who were reported kidnapped or missing in 2023 across Maharashtra, other states, and railway police stations. Information was also gathered through the crime and criminal tracking network and systems (CCTNS) and portals regarding missing and found children in India, as well as through the Missing Persons Search Centre of Maharashtra and the Child Helpline (1098).
The team also visited children’s homes and orphanages in the city and suburbs to collect photographs and details of children aged 8 to 13 admitted from 2023 onwards. Through this process, they obtained a photograph resembling the missing minor from a juvenile home in Matunga.
Upon visiting the facility and making inquiries, they learned that the boy residing there was named Aman Shaikh. Probe revealed that his parents lived in Malwani. When the team visited Malwani and showed the photograph to the boy’s parents and aunt, they identified him as Anis Khan, who they stated was missing since 2023.
“We have reunited the boy with his parents,” said Nalawade, adding that he did not want to stay with his parents as they often reprimanded him. He told the police that he left home in 2023 as he was uncomfortable there.
Anis’s parents, who are daily wage workers, said they had registered a complaint with Malwani police after they failed to locate their child. However, as the case remained unresolved, they “only prayed that Anis was alive and well where ever he was”.
“Anis had left home because we forced him to study and go to school. We cannot thank our stars and the police enough for bringing him back to us,” said Mustafa Khan, Anis’s father. Anis has three siblings.
Match Outlook
After fleeing home in October 2023, when the minor was caught wandering unchaperoned at Juhu Chowpatty, Juhu police picked him up to question him about his whereabouts. The questioning was fruitless as the boy could neither furnish his parents’ names nor where they lived. He did not reveal his own name either. Cops then launched extensive searches in the area. But unable to locate his parents, he was placed in the care of the Sneh Sadan Orphanage, in Andheri East, on October 21, 2023.
The minor however left from the orphanage two days later without informing anyone, following which a case of kidnapping was registered at the MIDC police station the next day. The FIR was registered based on a complaint lodged by Chanchal Prasad Nair—an employee of Sneh Sadan Orphanage.
