After 13 days on Mumbai’s streets, Durban man rescued

Dhramalingum Pillay enjoys a meal with his daughter Rebecca after being traced by the police

Dhramalingum ‘Dan' Pillay, an elderly and ailing South African national, was traced to Khar late Saturday night, 13 days after he went missing from the international airport. Many had seen the 69-year-old, who disappeared on January 30, at Marol over the past few days. Pillay's daughter Rebecca, who had been searching high and low for her father in Mumbai with the help of her friends, is beyond relieved. Rebecca and Pillay had come to India on January 21 for a tour.

Dikshit Gedam, DCP (Zone 8), said, "A patrolling team of the Khar police station found Dhramalingum Pillay on the road on Saturday night. The cops asked him his name and where he was from but he could only reply to the first question. We had told the police that Dhramalingum Pillay had gone missing. The Khar police checked the records and matched a photo of him with that of the missing person."

The Khar police then informed their counterparts at the Sahar police station where Rebecca had filed a missing complaint. "We took him to Sahar police station and identified him. We also did a medical test and found that he is hale and hearty. We informed his family and handed over him to his daughter Rebecca," DCP Gedam said.

Rebecca Pillay shows the spot where her father stepped out of the Mumbai International Airport. File pic

Pillay, who suffers from memory loss and hypertension, ate whatever he managed to get while he was roaming the streets. The police said he was seen wandering in Sakinaka, Marol, Powai and later Vile Parle, Santacruz and Khar.

The retired Durban resident and Rebecca visited India for the first time in January and they had gone to Chennai and Bangalore before coming to Mumbai. On January 30, their flight back home, which was scheduled to take off at 6.15 am, got delayed.

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Rebecca then took a brief nap but on waking learnt that her father had walked out of the airport. After Rebecca registered a missing complaint at Sahar police station, Gedam formed a special team to trace the senior citizen.

Rebecca told mid-day, "I was overjoyed to see him after 13 days. He is okay. My father was exhausted as he hadn't eaten properly for many days. We ate together and I am elated. I informed my mum in South Africa that he has been found and we also video-called her. I am thankful to mid-day for highlighting my father's situation and also to the Sahar police and DCP Dikshit Gedam who helped us trace my father. I am also thankful to the South Africa Embassy in India who also helped us."

She added, "When I met my father, he told me that he had gone outside the airport to see something. He ate a sufficient amount of food with me. In the next two days, we will be returning to our county."