Not a dry eye in the house as boys reunite with parents

The three boys with their parents in Bengaluru on Tuesday.

The State home for special children on Hosur Road was the scene of a moving reunion on Tuesday as three runaway boys were embraced by their loved ones.

The boys, all below 14, had been rescued from city roads between February and May this year. It was only during a Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) enrolment camp, when the boys were rejected by the system citing duplication, that the authorities realised they already had Aadhaar numbers.

Staff at the home, including superintendent Nagaratna R., could not hold back their emotions when Neelakanta Balaji, who hadn’t spoken a word since he was brought to the home in February, called out “Aaa” when he saw his mother Mallikamma. With tears in his eyes, the boy hugged his mother.

Balaji’s parents Mallikamma and Doraiswamy are construction labourers from Chittoor. He was diagnosed with multiple learning difficulties at birth and his parents used to bring him to NIMHANS for check-up regularly.

In February, the father and son made one such visit and returned to KSR Station to board a train back home. Doraiswamy went to buy some snacks and asked Balaji to stay put. On returning, he found the boy gone.

Omprakash from Jharkhand had a similar story to tell. He had arrived in Bengaluru in 2016 with his family to attend the wedding of a relative. He, too, was rescued by the NGO Bosco from a railway station and brought to the home in May this year.

“Omprakash had language problems and spoke very little to the staff,” said Ms. Nagaratna. On seeing his father Jagadish Prajapathy, Omprakash couldn’t contain his joy and fell on his feet. The father and son hugged and cried.

Ramesh, father of the third boy, Monu alias Narendra, had lost all hope of seeing his son again. The boy is said to have left his home in Indore and come to Bengaluru.

Ms. Nagaratna said the reunion was nothing less than a miracle. “I hope some day all the 83 children at the home are also reunited with their families,” she said, thanking the UIDAI for making this reunion possible.