Missing man with cerebral palsy reunited with family after 15 years in Kolkata

A 31-year-old man who had been missing for 15 years was recently reunited with his elderly parents in Kolkata. The man, Raja, who suffers from cerebral palsy, went missing from his Tollygunge home 15 years ago, causing distress to his family who refused to complete his last rites despite pressure from relatives and neighbors.

Recently, residents of Behala Parnasree informed the police about a man with a disability wandering around near the Rabindra Nagar bus stand. The police reached out to him, but he couldn't remember his name or provide any information about his family. The police initially suspected that he might have Down syndrome and sought help from the experts at the Taratala-based Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy. However, even they couldn't elicit any information from him. The police then took him to Vidyasagar State General Hospital for a check-up, where doctors recommended admission.

Following this, the police shared his photographs with all nearby police stations, local informers, and neighborhood WhatsApp groups. On Monday, Harish Chandra Jha and his wife Daya Devi, parents of the missing man, came forward to claim him. They produced Raja's disability certificate, which confirmed that he had cerebral palsy. The parents had filed a missing complaint with Tollygunge PS on July 6, 2008.

The police assisted the parents in completing legal formalities, and Raja was reunited with them. Daya recounted that she had served lunch to Raja and her four daughters on the day he went missing 15 years ago. The family had lived in Tollygunge at the time but had shifted to Regent Park after the incident.

The reunion has brought great relief to the family, who refused to give up hope and persisted in their search for 15 years. The incident highlights the importance of taking action and seeking help in such cases, as well as the power of community support in reuniting missing persons with their families.