Sangli constable's runaway son found outside Matunga station

Akbar Hawaldar considers himself a lucky father. He finally found his son Riyaz, who ran away from home in 2012. Akbar is a traffic constable in Sangli, and it was the Matunga police who found the boy and informed the father.

Sixteen-year-old Riyaz had fled from the family's Miraj residence on October 7, 2012.

Back home: Riyaz Hawaldar used to stay with his maternal grandmother, who reportedly pampered him. He'd moved back with his parents after she died

"We are middle-class people, but my son wants to be rich. He wants to start his own business, so he ran away from home," said Akbar.

After coming to Mumbai, the teenager started working with a catering company and did other odd jobs to sustain himself in the city.

In fact, he even rented a room in Dharavi with four other individuals.

Found on the road
In the wee hours of Monday, the Matunga police on patrol duty noticed the boy, now 18, sleeping on the road outside a mobile shop near Matunga railway station.

Inspector Chandrakant Bankar from Matunga police station said, "Due to the spate of burglary cases, we have increased night patrolling. We saw the boy during the rounds, sleeping outside a mobile shop. When we asked him a few questions, he fumbled. This aroused our suspicion and we took him in."

On being taken to the police station, the boy was initially quiet. But upon further coaxing and insistence, he revealed he was the son of a constable from Sangli.

"We contacted Miraj police station in Sangli, and learnt that a missing complaint had been registered," added PSI Atul Adurkar.

His father Akbar was informed, and he arrived in the evening to collect the boy.

Cops said that another possible reason for his escape may be that the boy, who stayed with his maternal grandmother, had been pampered. His parents, however, weren't as lenient with him.

"His grandmother died five years ago, after which I got him back home. He wasn't happy staying with us, and hence, left abruptly," Akbar said.