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Runaway kids reunited with families in lockdown

Seven children from different states who were found roaming in parts of Gujarat were reunited with their families, thanks to coordination between Child Welfare Committee (CWC), District Child Protection Officer (DCPO) and Collector of the respective states.

A child was found during police bandobast from Safed tower in Narmada district on April 4.

The DCPO and police personnel found that the 12-year-old belonged to Burhanpur in Madhya Pradesh. He was living with his aunt in Rajpipla and had left home following an argument with her. For four days, he wandered in Rajpipla and had food at an NGO.

According to DCPO, Narmada, Chetan Parmar, “After staying with his aunt for over a month, the boy was missing his mother. The family members were telling him not to venture out due to the lockdown. Our CWC Chairman Vallabh Joshi got in touch with a CWC member in Burhanpur.”

The DCPO and CWC Narmada decided to send the boy and his elder sister who were vacationing with their aunt back home as he was adamant. They found a driver. Accompanied by male and female constables, they sent them home on April 6 along with food and water to last the journey.

Sandeep Sharma, CWC member in Burhanpur said, “We reached out to his nearby relatives and thereby the parents. We are grateful that we could help the kids reach their destination.”

On March 28, two girls (10) and a boy (11) were found roaming in Dahod by an alert citizen. He contacted Collector Vijay Kharadi, who informed DCPO, Dahod and Town Police Inspector Vasant Kumar Patel. They tested negative after a medical check-up.

DCPO, Dahod, Shantilal Taviyad said, “They told us they belong to Kalangar in Rajasthan. Their aunt and uncle had forced them into begging. They are orphans. During the lockdown, they got separated and told us they don’t want to be with their uncle and aunt.”

The DCPO contacted CWC chairperson of Banswara under which the village falls. “Our Collector, SP, PI and my team thought it best to send them to the place they belong to. On March 30, they reached their hometown.”

Harish Kumar Trivedi, CWC Banswara said, “We were in constant touch with Dahod team and sent all information about the kids. We saw the kids and they looked scared and tensed. Since the kids didn’t want their relatives, we enrolled two girls at children home for girls and the boy at other children home.”

In another incident in Dahod, three boys aged 14, 13 and 12 years were found by Town PI Vasant Kumar on April 11. They said they were working in a tea stall on the highway in Godhra since March 20. The lockdown forced the owner to shut shop. He then offered them a room and ration and later gave Rs 1,000 to each and showed them the way home.

A truck driver drove them till Dahod highway where a cop spotted them. Thereafter, PI Vasant contacted DCPO, Dahod, and medical check-up of the boys was done. Their reports were negative. They were kept in separate rooms with all facilities.

Shantilal said, “One of the kids escaped on April 21 and we had to register an FIR. The boys were from Ratlam in MP. We informed CWC member, Ratlam. After procedures were complete, we could send the kids home on April 27.”

Jeevraj Purohit, CWC member, Ratlam said, “We kept in touch with Dahod DCPO. Permission from the Collector made things easy. We put the boys under quarantine for 14 days. The kid who had run away had called up home after being stranded. One of his relatives who is a Gram Sachiv had a lockdown pass. He reached out to the boy and brought him home.”

Dahod Collector Vijay Kharadi said, “A great team effort led to this success. We followed all protocols. We did our duty.”

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