Agartala, July 31: Uttarakhand police rescued a minor boy of Tripura, who fled away from an NGO-run school and got lost in Haridwar, and virtually reunited him with the family.

According to a TOI report, two personnel of Haridwar police found eight-year-old boy from Tripura- Shantanu Jamatia sitting alone and crying near a canal. When the cops tried to communicate with the boy in Hindi and English, they were unable to receive any response as the boy only speaks Kokborok, a regional language. 

The minor boy was then taken to the police station and the police personnel came to know about the name of a school—Hadrai Radhamadhab High School where he was studying earlier. When police searched it online, they found the school was located in Tripura’s Teliamura sub-division, some 2,600 km away from Haridwar. They then contacted a local police officer in Teliamura and detailed the incident.

It was then that the Tripura Police traced the family of the minor boy and arranged a video call; this is how the Shantanu was reunited with his family online.

It was later revealed that the boy had been sent to Haridwar to be admitted to an NGO-run school as his parents didn't have the money to continue paying the fee of the school he was earlier studying in. Homesick, the boy had fled the Haridwar School at night on Wednesday, July 27, and got lost.

The TOI report quoted a police officer as saying, to help the boy feel comfortable, two female changed into civilian dress and offered him goodies. 

"This calmed him down a bit and he started talking. However, we could only make out 'Hadrai Radhamadhab High School'. I searched the name on Google and found it was halfway across the country, in Teliamura, Tripura," the police officer said as quoted by the TOI report. 

For now, the boy has returned to his school and is doing fine. His father- Shibsadhan Jamatia, a daily-wage labourer, started for Haridwar. Once he reaches the school, the next decision will be taken. (with inputs from Times of India)

Tripura former Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb lauded the efforts made by Uttarakhand police and also spoke to the minor boy’s father. Deb assured Jamatia of extending all possible assistance.