Mumbai: Missing autistic teen found in nullah

Dhruv Mane, a 19-year-old with autism spectrum disorder, was found in a nullah in Goregaon on Friday, three days after he went missing. Police said he fell 20 feet into the drain on Tuesday and had been there until being rescued.

Police admitted him to Holy Spirit hospital in Andheri, as he sustained multiple injuries from the fall.

Dhruv, an SYBCom student, lives with his mother Tarkeshwari Mane, father Sunil Mane and a brother at Bimbisar Nagar near Mahanand dairy in Goregaon East. He went missing around 1.30 pm on August 23.

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Later that day, the Vanrai police checked the footage of CCTV cameras on WEH and Mane was captured heading towards Aarey forest. As there were no cameras ahead, police could not ascertain the route he took. Teams of Vanrai, Aarey and DCP Zone 12 police and Crime Branch officers searched the forest, but couldn't find him.

Sub Inspector Sangam Gawde of Vanrai police station told mid-day, "I called three-four BMC employees to search for the boy in the nullah. We found Dhruv 700 metres from the highway and he was alive.

"We took him out of the water, gave him water and juice. Thankfully, his uncle was with us and he identified Dhruv. We rushed him to the hospital," Gawde said.