Chaibasa (Jharkhand) | In a humane initiative, the West Singhbhum police will send a team to Kerala to bring back a youth who was separated from his father 13 years ago after boarding the wrong train, and help reunite him with his family in Jharkhand, officials said on Thursday.
Superintendent of Police Amit Renu said the police were alerted to the case by an NGOs about Raja Gope, who went missing as a child and is now in his early 20s.
“We have traced the boy’s family living in a village under Sonua police station in West Singhbhum district. A team will be sent after completing necessary formalities to bring him back,” Renu said.
He said Chaibasa Deputy Superintendent of Police Vinod Kumar and Sonua Police Station Officer-in-Charge Shashi Bala Bhengra will coordinate the process.
Deputy Superintendent of Police Vinod Kumar said the police have established contact with the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) in Kannur district of Kerala, where Gope is currently staying at an ‘After Care’ centre.
“The superintendent of the After Care centre in Kannur has asked us to produce documents verifying the identity of the boy’s parents and complete other protocols. We have initiated the process,” Kumar said.
The team deputed to Kerala will include representatives from Sonua police station and the West Singhbhum District Child Protection Officer (DCPO), he added.
Police said Gope’s family resides in Harimara village under Asantaliya panchayat of Sonua block. As part of the verification process, authorities will obtain a certificate from the village mukhiya confirming that Gope belongs to the village and that his mother, Mani Gope, and siblings live there.
“The DCPO will submit a report, and identity proof of the boy’s mother will also be taken. His father passed away four years ago. These documents are necessary to complete the transfer from the After Care centre,” Kumar said.
According to Fardeen Khan, who looks after Jharkhand operations of NGO Railway Children, Gope was about six years old in 2012 when he was travelling with his father to West Bengal for brick kiln work.
“He got separated from his father and boarded the wrong train, eventually reaching Ernakulam in Kerala. He was rescued by activists and placed in a child shelter home. He could recall only the name of Chaibasa and the first names of his parents, but not the exact location of his village,” Khan said.
Earlier this month, when Gope was shifted to Kannur under the Kerala CWC’s skill development and rehabilitation programme, local activists contacted the NGO, which circulated his video in Chaibasa.
The effort yielded results as his family was traced in West Singhbhum district. Gope, now described as a promising footballer, has since spoken to his mother over a video call and also learnt about his father’s death, Khan said, expressing hope that the reunion would take place soon.
Sonua Police Station Officer-in-Charge Shashi Bala Bhengra said Gope’s mother, who was working at a brick kiln unit in West Bengal, has been brought to Sonua to facilitate the reunion process.
Mohammed Shamim, a member of the CWC in Chaibasa, said the immediate step would be to complete the formal transfer procedure. After that, efforts would be made to link Gope with the After Care scheme and skill training programmes in West Singhbhum district, he added.
