Runaway boy from MP will meet CID heroes
On Tuesday, the boy disappeared from his home and caught the first available train to Mumbai from Indore, with only Rs 50 in his pocket.
A starry-eyed boy fan of the cult television show CID, will have a happy ending after running away from his home in Madhya Pradesh and travelling more than 700 kilometres to Mumbai to meet the show’s stars. Sony television has invited the boy to meet the cast after reading a post on the incident by a police officer’s son on social media.
The 16-year-old boy (name withheld), who is the older of two brothers, is a class VIII dropout and a native of Khategaon, a small town 119 kilometres away from Indore. His father works as a daily wage labourer while his mother is a housewife. While growing up, the boy was obsessed with CID, which has been on air since he was one year old.
On Tuesday, the boy disappeared from his home and caught the first available train to Mumbai from Indore, with only Rs 50 in his pocket.
Arriving at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus past 11 am on Wednesday, the boy asked for directions to the CID office. The police said he was directed to the Azad Maidan police station, opposite the railway terminus. Staff at the police station directed the boy to the office of the Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC), which has a unit inside the complex.
“He walked into my cabin and asked if this was the CID office. I said it was. He then asked if Abhijeet was here. I understood right then who he was looking for, but told him I had sent Abhijeet out for work. He then asked if he could meet ACP Pradyuman. We then sat him down and explained to him that they were only television characters,” said Inspector Suhas Gokhale of the ANC.
The boy said he had purchased a ticket at Indore but tore it after reaching Mumbai, said Gokhale.
The inspector then called up the boy’s parents, who were shocked when told he had reached Mumbai. “They told us he was a huge fan of CID and wanted to meet the show’s characters. He was convinced he would find them in Mumbai,” he said.
Clearly famished, the boy was first fed by the police before the Azad Maidan police station was informed of the incident. “The Azad Maidan police station made a diary entry and sent the boy to the care of the Dongri Home for Children,” said Gokhale.
Things took an unexpected turn on Thursday, when Gokhale’s son, Saket, an advertising professional, posted the incident on his Facebook page. “Shortly after uploading the post, Saket was contacted by someone from Sony Television. He gave them my phone number. The official expressed interest in arranging a meeting with the cast for the boy,” said Gokhale.
A source from Sony Television confirmed that the meting has been arranged for Friday morning. “Sony Television arranges such meetings for a lot of CID fans. The boy will visit the show’s set in Malad West Friday morning and meet the cast,” the source said.
srinath.rao@expressindia.com
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