Kalyan RPF reunites intellectually-challenged man with family in Bihar after nine months

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The Railway Protection Force (RPF) has reunited a 20-year-old intellectually-challenged man from Bihar with his family which believed that he was dead and had even conducted his last rites, reported news agency PTI.

Arjun Kumar went missing last August after he left for his hometown in Bihar from Himachal Pradesh where his parents worked, an official said on Friday, reported PTI.

The RPF found him begging near the Kalyan railway station in Thane district, near Mumbai.

Senior divisional security commissioner, RPF Mumbai, Rishi Kumar Shukla received a message about the youth roaming around the Kalyan railway station and asked officials to find him, reported PTI.

"We found him, but he did not respond to any questions about his hometown and family. He only said his name was Arjun Kumar and did not know how he ended up in Kalyan," said Rakesh Kumar, a senior RPF official, reported PTI.

He was very weak after days of begging, so RPF officials ensured that he was fed properly and taken care of, hoping that he would reveal more about himself after recovering, reported PTI.

Though he did not offer much information, the officials guessed that he belonged to Patna district as he spoke the local Magahi dialect, reported PTI.

The RPF Kalyan then contacted multiple police stations in Patna and also used social media platforms to seek information.

"Their collaborative efforts bore fruit when they received information from Dulhin Bazar police station confirming Arjun's identity and his family's address, Rakesh Kumar said, reported PTI.

Police then contacted his father Ganhori Das who works as a security guard at Baddi in Himachal Pradesh. Arjun was finally reunited with his family on Thursday, reported PTI.

His family only knew that he had left for Bihar by train before he went missing. When the search proved futile, the family conducted his last rites in February 2024 on suggestion of their relatives, presuming that he was dead.

It was an emotional moment when they met him on Thursday.

"This reunion is a testament to the RPF's unwavering dedication to protect and assist the community. This successful outcome underscores the importance of collective effort and compassion of Central Railway in safeguarding the welfare of every individual within communities," an official release said, reported PTI.

(With inputs from PTI)