Gujarat Police trace family of runaway Nepalese boy

An 11-year-old Nepalese boy, who had run away from his home after being allegedly harassed by his step-mother, will soon be reunited with his family which has been traced to that country, police said.
The boy, Hari Bahadur, was found alone after his friend abandoned him at Veldi railway station in Banaskantha district of Gujarat on January 16 this year, Banaskantha District Superintendent of Police Ashok Kumar Yadav told PTI today over phone.
The boy was then taken to a children's remand home in Palanpur.
Police got to know about the boy's nationality after he sang the national anthem of Nepal, following which they approached Nepalese authorities to get in touch with his parents, Yadav said.

The boy belongs to Chhumchor village of Jumla district in Nepal and he also identified a photograph shown to him as that of his father, he said.
The boy alleged that he was tortured and beaten up frequently by his step-mother, fed up with which he left his home along with a friend, the SP said.

Both of them visited a number of cities including Lucknow, Meerut, Jaipur and Ajmer. When the train in which both were travelling made a halt at Veldi station, the minor boy's friend abandoned him and disappeared.
"We also contacted NGO 'Aavaz' working in Nepal to get in touch with the parents of the boy," Yadav said.

An official from the NGO checked and verified all details after visiting the house of his parents," he said, adding that they were now waiting for the boy's father to take him back.