Sivaganga: The New Year brought boundless joy to a peasant family in Vandavasi in the district as Sarath Kannan, son of S. Marimuthu and Selvi, who went missing, returned home after nearly three years, thanks to the efforts made by a police team, headed by Superintendent of Police Shekhar Deshmukh.
The poor farm workers spent yet another day with tears and disappointment on December 31, and stood in disbelief and speechless when Kannan, their only son who went missing in February 2014, walked in to an emotional reunion around 6 p.m. on Sunday.
His father, mother and sister hugged him with muffled cries and tears of joy. “We never thought we will get back him, but God has answered our prayers,” said Mr. Marimuthu and Ms. Selvi.
Kannan, now 17 years old, had worked in a knitwear company in Tirupur all these years. He assured his parents that he would be with them and pursue his studies. Celebrating the return of Kannan, the villagers thanked the police for their efforts.
The special police team tirelessly worked for three months after virtually combing all the 32 districts in the State and visiting Maharashtra, Odisha, Hyderabad, Telengana and Kerala, putting up posters and banners and displaying slides in cinema theatres and on television channels.
A banner erected in front of a knitwear company at Tirupur bore fruit. After seeing it, Kannan told his employer about his family, and he helped him visit his parents. It looked as if he had worked as a bonded labourer after an agent took him to the company.
The police team members displayed exemplary professionalism, and Mr. Deshmukh congratulated them for their commendable job. He heaved a sigh of relief as he produced the boy before the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Monday.
When Kannan, who was studying class IX in a local school, was asked to bring his parents after he failed in three subjects, he decided to flee home. He went to school on a Monday after borrowing Rs. 200 from his mother and never returned home. The Sivaganga Town police Inspector began investigation after registering a ‘boy missing’ case.
Dissatisfied with the investigation, the parents filed a habeas corpus petition before the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, after which, the Sivaganga Town DSP took over the investigation.
As the boy could not be traced, Mr Justice Nagamuthu, heading a Bench, directed that the case be handed over to an IPS officer, and Mr. Deshmukh took over the investigation in October last.
