Rs 15 lakh and 150 days later, no sign of Tarun Gupta

Family has used up all savings to pay for train, air travel, detectives, workers to put up posters

Despite concerted efforts from family, friends, the GRP, RPF, city police and political muscle, autistic teenager Tarun Gupta, who went missing from near his home in Colaba over 150 days ago, remains missing. On the other hand, the family's financial burden is increasing with every day as they jave spent nearly R15 lakh in his search.

"I have no use for money if I don't have my son. I will sell everything I have to bring him back," said Tarun's father Vinod Kumar Gupta, adding that he had liquidated multiple deposits that were meant to safeguard his son's future to pay for train and plane tickets.

"I have been paying private individuals who have been helping me search for Tarun. Five days ago, I hired a Dombivali-based private detective who specialises in finding missing people. He is hunting between Ahmedabad and Bhuj. Having one more person eases the pressure on me and helps us cover more area," said Vinod. He has also hired 14 workers at the cost of R1,000 per day to help him put up missing posters at railway stations.

Tarun Kumar Gupta

Search head to Jammu
After checking in Gujarat and Goa, Vinod and his friend went to Bhopal 15 days ago. "I published a missing person advertisement in the local newspaper and people reported saying they had seen him but a long time ago," said Gupta.

"After Bhopal, we searched 64 stations till Jhansi in 10 days. We put up missing person posters and stickers at all stations, but did not get concrete leads. We will now check on the Bhopal-Jammu route. Tarun may have moved further north," Gupta said.

"I know I will have to find him myself. I am not going to get any help from the system."

Vinod claimed that though the new Commissioner of Mumbai Police, Param Bir Singh, assured him of forming a team to find Tarun, no action has been taken by MRA Marg police where the missing person complaint has been filed. "There has been no investigation from their end. They are only making a verbal team."

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