Kidnapped At Age Of 7, Man Reunites With Family In Ghaziabad After 31 Years

Raju was kidnapped while returning from school. He had a fight with his sister after which he stopped mid-way and sat on a stone while she walked on. He was kidnapped by three men then.

Man who was kidnapped at the age of seven reunites with family in Ghaziabad after 31 years.

Source : PTI

A seven-year-old boy who was kidnapped from Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad district more than 30 years ago, reunited with his family in a miraculous turn of events. Tears of joy were all around after the man, now 38, reunited with his family after being abducted in September 1993.

Raju, alias Bhim Singh, reached the Khoda Police station in Ghaziabad while searching for his family, and narrated his ordeal, elaborating how he was separated from his family as a boy. The police took a cue from a missing complaint filed 31 years ago and called his family, after which Raju was reunited with his family.

Raju told the police that some unknown people kidnapped him when he was just seven-year-old. He was returning from school with his sister when he had a fight with her. He stopped mid-way after getting angry with her and sat on a stone while his sister walked on.

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According to his father Tula Ram, a retired Delhi government employee, said the kidnapping took place when Raju and his sister were returning home from Deen Bandhu Public School in Sahibabad.

After some time, a three people came in a truck, picked him up and took him to Jaisalmer in Rajasthan. "The kidnappers kept me in a room located in the middle of a barren area, where I was forced to take care of sheep and goats. Each night, I was chained and locked in the room," he said. 

He said he used to graze the landlord's sheep the whole day and would only be given only one roti and tea as meal twice a day after work.  

According to the FIR, Tula Ram received a ransom letter demanding Rs 8 lakh days after police failed to find Raju despite extensive searches. Unable to pay the amount, he left the matter to fate and the probe went cold. Tula Ram remained uncertain about his son's fate until the family's nightmare ended and Raju returned on November 27.

Raju's mother and sisters identified him by a mole on his chest and a depression on his skull.    

How Raju Escaped

Raju's hopes of returning to his family were fulfilled when he met a businessman from Delhi who was purchasing sheep and goats in the area a few days ago. He saw Raju being beaten and tied to a tree and decided to help him.

The businessman helped Raju escape and took him with himself on the truck and hid him among the sheep.  

He dropped him off at the Ghaziabad border with a note saying that he was from Noida and had been kidnapped in 1993, police officials said. 

Raju only remembered the name of the city his family lived in. When he reached Ghaziabad he was confused where to go as the city had transformed in the last 31 years.

He took help from locals and somehow reached the Khoda police station where officers arranged food and shelter for him. After three days, Khoda police managed to find Raju's family. 

ACP Rajneesh Upadhyay stated that after completing all the necessary legal formalities, police successfully reunited Raju with his family.