Mumbai: Good Samaritan averts joyride from turning into a tragedy

Shriyansh with the Dholakiya family

Shriyansh Lad, a 12-year-old special child who resides at Nalasopara, has been reunited with his family after he went missing since boarding a train for a joyride on Thursday afternoon. An alert Prabhadevi resident, Nitin Dholakiya, spotted the boy outside Churchgate railway station and took him to the NM Joshi Marg police station. But the officials told him to shelter the child for a few days until the family was found, which the Dholakiyas happily did for three days.

Shriyansh, a resident of Maurya Nagar, has been experiencing convulsions since he was two years old. His father Nilesh Lad, an autorickshaw driver, told mid-day, "Shriyansh had a normal birth but on turning two, he started having convulsions, which caused his mind to weaken. He is undergoing treatment for the condition and we haven't admitted him to school due to this. On Thursday morning, Shriyansh told me he wanted to take the train for a joyride and I replied that I would take him on the weekend."

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Shriyansh Lad

While Nilesh Lad was at work, Shriyansh left the house with Rs 10 in his pocket and travelled via autorickshaw to Nalasopara station. He then caught a fast train to Churchgate. From there, he took a slow train to Borivli in the hope of returning home.

On realising that he would not reach Nalasopara station this way, the boy alighted at Prabhadevi station, according to Nilesh Lad. "He saw many police officers on the platform and out of fear of being scolded, he left the station. Later, he took another train to Churchgate and was roaming outside the station when Nitin Dholakiya spotted him."

Dholakiya told mid-day, "I was riding to work on my motorcycle that day when I saw this boy looking lost outside the railway station. I asked him where he wanted to go and he told me that he was famished. I promised to give him food but I requested him to visit the police station and he took to his heels. Worried, I searched high and low and finally found him near the income tax office."

After promising to give Shriyansh food if he would accompany him, Dholakiya took the child home and fed him. "Later, I told him we were going out for a ride and took him to the police station. The officers took my details and a photo of the kid but advised me to take him home as criminals are brought daily to the police station," Dholakiya said.

Shiryansh with the Dholakiya family

"I took him back home. He was with me for three days and he was elated to be around my sisters' children. He told me that this was his home and he would not go anywhere else," he added.

Unjustifiably worried about being booked for kidnapping, Dholakiya tasked his sisters with obtaining details from the child. "My seven-year-old nephew learned that Shriyansh was from Nalasopara but the boy refused to give any number or address."

He added, "On Sunday, I told him that his parents hadn't been eating anything for two days and they were desperately searching for him and he started crying and revealed his father's mobile number."

Nilesh Lad registered a missing complaint at the Achole police station on Thursday. The Achole police, on examining CCTV camera footage, learnt about the boy's eventful journey to Churchgate station. However, they were in the dark about his activities after he stepped out of the station.

Nilesh Lad expressed gratitude to the Dholakiyas. "They treated my son as their own and gave him food and clothes. They also took him to the garden to play with their kids. My son told me that he wants to meet his new friends and play with them again. My son is intelligent and remembers everything. I will take Shriyansh for a train ride every week."

3
No of days the child lived with the Dholakiyas