CHENNAI: A youth, who went missing from Danapur local market at Patna in Bihar nine years ago, was rescued by an NGO in Chennai and reunited with his family. Shabbily dressed and with long-matted hair and wandering aimlessly, 25-year-old Kundan Sharma was found by social worker D Jacob of Udavum Karangal near Jaya College in Pattabiram 15 days ago.
Unable to provide details about his background, he was admitted to Udavum Karangal facility in Thiruverkadu. He was referred to Dr M S Karthik, psychiatrist at the institution, who found him with depression psychosis. Counselling was done and social workers would daily interact with him. He is said to be having a runaway attitude and often stood near the gate of the Home, said social workers in Udavum Karangal.
“Initially, he disclosed his name as Kundan Kumar. He used to utter words like Chitanabad, Saharsa. On googling, we found out that these are the places he was living before he ran away. With the little details, we reached out on WhatsApp to a place called Kumedaan Tolla in Chitanabad Post Office area of Saharsa district in Bihar. After much searching, Hazrat of Saraunja village helped us reach Kundan’s father Mandeep Sharma. We sent Kundan’s photo on WhatsApp and he was identified by his father,” recalls Vidyaakar, founder of Udavum Karangal.
Kundan was the only son among Mandeep’s and his wife Belidevi’s children. Kundan had mental problems even from a young age, which the family failed to notice, recalls Vibash, Kundan’s cousin. He, along with his brother-in-law Pramod Sharma, came to Chennai to take him back. “We will be leaving tomorrow,” said Vibash, who has been flooded with calls from his village, Kumedaan.
“Humanity is alive. We had given up hope. We thank Udavum Karangal and people of Chennai,” he said, adding that the whole family is waiting for the reunion. “Now, he understands what we are talking about, though he is always in a state of fear,” he says when asked about Kundan’s mental health.