DEHRADUN: A single word written in a diary helped Uttarakhand Police reunite a mentally unwell elderly man with his family nearly 10 years after he went missing from his home in Uttar Pradesh.
The reunion followed an investigation by Sub-Inspector Vinod Fartyal, the newly appointed officer in charge of the Majkhali police outpost in Ranikhet, Almora district. Police said the man had been wandering around Majkhali and Tarikhet for several years and was unable to clearly identify himself.
Fartyal noticed the man during an Almora Police campaign focused on vulnerable and missing persons. He brought him to the outpost and spoke to him in the hope that he could recall details about his home or relatives.
Repeated conversations did not provide any clear lead. Fartyal then gave the man a diary and a pen and asked him to write anything he remembered. The man wrote just one word — “Rajepur”.
Majkhali police contacted Rajepur police station in Uttar Pradesh’s Farrukhabad district and shared the man’s photograph and other available details. After four days of inquiries, officers identified him as Shyam Singh and traced his family.
Singh’s son and other relatives travelled from Uttar Pradesh to the Majkhali outpost after receiving the information. The family was reunited with him after nearly a decade.
Relatives told police that Singh had left home about 10 years ago while struggling with mental illness. Despite extensive searches, the family had been unable to trace him and had gradually lost hope.
Police personnel involved in the case said the incident demonstrated the importance of patience, empathy and unconventional thinking in field policing.
“Sensitive policing is not confined to enforcing the law; restoring a family’s happiness is also an essential part of public service,” they said.