A 27-year-old man from Assam, who was found abandoned and wounded, was rescued by volunteers of Kaaval Karangal , an initiative of the Greater Chennai Police to rescue abandoned and uncared for people on the road.
The mentally challenged man was treated and sheltered at a special home in Manali. He was reunited with his family in the presence of Commissioner of Police Shankar Jiwal on Thursday.
In March, the city police launched Kaaval Karangal with the assistance of officers of the Greater Chennai Corporation, the Social Welfare Department and non-governmental organisations to rescue abandoned or homeless persons through helplines. Under this initiative, the Greater Chennai Police helplines were synchronised with NGOs and other government services.
Police found the mentally-challenged man lying on Peters Road on May 12, with wounds all over this body. He was not in a position to identify himself. Volunteers of two NGOs Anbil Paavai and Karunai Illam took him to the Government Royapettah Hospital, where he was treated. He was later shifted to a home run by Anbagam in Manali. “We struggled to identify him since he speaks only Assamese with a local accent. On regaining memory, he identified himself as Jaffer Ali alias Mohajar Ali, 27, from a remote area in Assam. We contacted the local police station, where a man missing case was registered by his family members a couple of years ago, and his brother was asked to come here to receive him,” said a senior police officer.
Mr. Jiwal said, “Under the Kaaval Karangal initiative, an inspector and six other police personnel have been working in the control room specially for the purpose of coordination and rendering quick assistance. As many as 65 NGOs have also been roped in under the scheme. In the last three months, we have rescued six missing persons.”