Ghaziabad family ‘reunited with missing son’ after 31 years: Police detain man, to probe if claims genuine

However, Bhim’s mother, Leelavati, is still convinced he is her son. “He is my son. I just want police to tell this to everyone around and give him back to me,” she said.

Her husband, Tula Ram, refuses to be taken in. “I knew he was not my son,” he insisted. Working in his atta chakki shop on the ground floor of their two-storey house in Shaheed Nagar, he told The Indian Express on Sunday: “My heart never believed him completely. Now, I feel we should have done the DNA test and not waited.”

On September 8, 1993, Bhim was returning from school along with his two older sisters, Rajo and Santosh, when he was abducted by a group of men in an auto. On his return, Bhim, now 40, had claimed he was taken to Jaisalmer, chained outside a hut of a herder, and made to rear sheep and cows as a bonded labourer. “A truck driver saw me and helped me reach Khoda Police station,” he had told police on Tuesday.

His three sisters, too, said their suspicions grew in the days following the return of their brother, fondly called Raju. “He would get angry at the slightest of things. He would try to run away from the house and always wanted tea,” said Rajo, 43.

What confirmed her doubts was that ‘Bhim’ could write with his left hand. “My brother was not left-handed,” she said.

“On Friday, I asked him (Bhim) if he could write anything. I wrote RAJU on a page and asked him to copy it multiple times. He copied it with his left hand, very neatly. I had my doubts then,” said Rajo.

Santosh, his elder sister who he had recognised first in photographs shown to him by the family at the police station, said the picture was taken when she was around 14 or 15. She said that her face still resembled the one in the photograph, and he guessed it was her.

‘He played with our emotions’

The Dehradun couple, Kapil Dev Sharma and Asha, lost their son several years ago. Five months ago, a man showed up and claimed he was their son, Manu.

Dehradun SSP Ajai Singh told The Indian Express that when the man approached them in July, the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit was activated. Subsequently, a Dehradun family identified him as their missing son. However, it later emerged through news reports that the same person had gone to Ghaziabad with a similar story, and finding that odd, they informed Ghaziabad Police.

“The Dehradun family mentioned he left home saying he was looking for a job but hadn’t contacted them since. They are concerned. If required, we can conduct a DNA test on receiving a formal complaint. However, in Dehradun, it was the family who came forward, claiming to recognise the man. At this point, we can’t determine if the individual is being deceptive or if it is a case of mistaken identity,” Singh said.

Kapil, meanwhile, said the man claimed he was kidnapped while playing in the ground as a nine-year-old. “He told my wife Asha that he had four sisters and he was the only brother and was kidnapped… He also told her I ran a grocery shop and my wife believed him. She was convinced he was our missing son and got him home when I was away at work.”

Last week, Kapil said their ‘son’ left the house saying he was going to Delhi to look for better opportunities. “He used to quarrel always… My wife would support him. Nearly a week ago, he left and his phone has been switched off since then,” he told The Indian Express.

“He played with our emotions,” he fumed.

On Sunday, Khoda Police in Ghaziabad told The Indian Express they were convinced of the man’s identity by the way he narrated his stories. “He gave us all the details… We still feel he is their son but if he is not, then we don’t know who can be trusted today,” said SHO Anand Prakash Mishra.

Mishra, after listening to Bhim’s entire account at the police station, looked at CCTV footage from a truck stand in Delhi; this was where Bhim said he was dropped off by his rescuer. “We found nothing in the footage. On being asked about this, Bhim then said the truck driver had dropped him at the borders of Delhi and he took a bus,” he said.

Mishra still had his doubts though as the jacket Bhim was wearing looked a little expensive. “He told me the truck driver bought it for him. I believed him,” the SHO said.