MUMBAI: What began as a routine police drive to rehabilitate beggars in Mumbai took an unexpected turn when officers discovered that a young man living on a footpath in Malad was actually a missing medical student from Nanded who had been separated from his family during a mental health crisis.
The emotional reunion unfolded late Thursday night at the Malad police station after officers tracked down the youth’s family following hours of careful questioning and investigation.
The incident came to light when a police team conducting an anti-begging drive along SV Road in Malad noticed a disoriented man in his twenties sitting on the pavement. Constable Komalsingh Jadhav found that the man was unable to answer basic questions or speak coherently and brought him to the police station after sensing he was in distress.
Instead of treating him as a routine case, officers chose to first care for his immediate needs. Police provided him with a bath and a hot meal before attempting to speak with him.
Once he had calmed down, sub-inspector Manisha Kagalkar began gently questioning him about his background. Gradually, the young man identified himself as Abhay, a third-year homeopathy student from Tamsa in Maharashtra’s Nanded district.
Abhay told police that he had travelled by train earlier this year when his bag was stolen. Left stranded in Mumbai without money or contact details for his family — which were written on a paper kept inside the missing bag — he struggled to survive.
Police later learned that Abhay had also been dealing with a pre-existing mental health condition and was unable to remember his family’s phone numbers. With no support system and nowhere to go, he eventually turned to begging for survival.
Working under the supervision of senior inspector Dushyant Chavan and DCP Sandip Ghuge, sub-inspector Kagalkar contacted the Tamsa police station using the details Abhay could recall.
The breakthrough came quickly. Police in Tamsa confirmed that a missing person complaint matching Abhay’s description had already been registered by his family.
When contacted by Mumbai Police, Abhay’s father revealed that his son had been undergoing treatment for a mental health condition in Nanded. About a month and a half ago, he had suddenly left home without informing anyone, prompting an extensive search by relatives.
Abhay’s father, a school teacher, and his elder brother, a doctor at a government hospital, had been desperately searching for him ever since.
After photographs were exchanged for verification, the family immediately travelled to Mumbai.
The search finally ended late Thursday night when Abhay’s family arrived at the Malad police station around 11 pm. Seeing his son after weeks of uncertainty, Abhay’s father broke down in tears.
The family thanked the police officers for not only locating Abhay, but also for treating him with compassion and dignity during the ordeal.
