Chennai: Cops turn saviors to missing people

Chennai: It was a heartwarming scene when 45-year-old Anjali Ratilal Shinde, who went missing one-and-half years ago, was re-united with her family on June 7 this year.

The Mumbai-based housewife, who had a history of mental disorder, was distressed over the death of her husband and came out of her residence. While social workers from a mental health NGO, the Banyan, rescued her from the roads of Chintadripet three months ago, the cops from the Tamil Nadu Crime Records Bureau helped in tracing out her base.

Tears rolled down from the eyes of Anjali’s children when they saw their mother, surrounded by social workers and police personnel. The relieved wails of children had moved the rigid police officers who cried along with them and later consoled the family. In a humanitarian cause taken up by the state crime records bureau, a total of 92 missing people, who share a similar case record like Anjali, were united with their families.

The happiness experienced by families is boundless. Expressing his gratitude to police officers, Shankar Ratilal Shinde, son of Anjali, said, “Not a single day passed without thinking about my mother. We had searched all the lanes of Mumbai and Solapur, where she spent her childhood. The call from Chennai police had given us a new hope in life.”

The search mission led by ADGP Seema Agarwal is emerging as a boon for many families, who lost their distressed members. From overnight search missions to helping the families in mobilizing the funds, the state crime records bureau is reaching out to the distressed families. Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, ADGP Seema Agarwal said, “We have a tie up with the government approved NGOs that house mentally disoriented people. With the information received from patients, after they recover, we locate the families with the help of the police stations in other localities.”

In many cases, families have given up hope and conducted last rites of their ‘missing’ member, recalled the ADGP. The state crime records bureau has a tie up with 40 NGOs in Tamil Nadu, explains inspector A.S. Thahira, who is a part of the mission.

“Apart from reunions, we had also matched 146 missing people with the unidentified dead bodies in the city. Every reunion is a tale of joy that encourages us to take up more such works,” the inspector told DC.