Mumbai: Missing autistic boy spotted in Uttar Pradesh

Tarun Gupta

The tale of Tarun Gupta - the autistic teen who went missing from near his home in Colaba on October 1 - has taken an optimistic turn. Earlier this week, Tarun's father Vinod Kumar Gupta received a call from a person who informed him about seeing Tarun at UP's Mughal Serai station back in December.

According to Vinod Kumar Gupta, the person who called him is a medical professional who 'travels a lot by train'.

"He first messaged me three days ago on Facebook after seeing posts about Tarun being missing and then called me," said Vinod, speaking with mid-day. "He told me that in late December, he had seen Tarun asking for food at Mughal Serai station. He was the one who fed him and gave him water."

"This is the first time in two months that someone has reported seeing Tarun," said Vinod. "He [Tarun] was last spotted at Jamnagar station. Since then we had not received any update."

Vinod further said that he had shared the information about Tarun's December sighting with RPF authorities as well as with all the Railways social media handles so that they could in turn further disseminate the information to the required units. "I have sent some people who live in and around Mughal Serai to go check. But they weren't allowed by police authorities to enter the railway station."

Vinod further said that the social media posts about Tarun being missing, that have been tailored and monetarily boosted at a different city, state and national levels had been further narrowed down to the area in and around Mughal Serai to spread the word about his missing autistic son. "We have also made a video about his missing case and are widely circulating it on all platforms," he said.

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