Lost boy 'rescued' by alert passengers at metro station

An eight-year-old boy who got separated from his family today at a metro station in south Delhi was rescued by alert fellow passengers after two unidentified men allegedly tried to forcibly take the child away with them.
An inconsolable Sheikh Salauddin, who hails from Motihari district in Bihar and was stranded at the INA metro station, was later handed over to the family at the same station by the metro officials.
"Some good samaritans brought the child to us saying two unidentified men were allegedly attempting to take the child with them on the pretext of handing him over to his family. We were also told that the duo were apparently intoxicated," a CISF vigilance officer on duty at the station said.

"The two men left by the metro after the alert passengers objected to their actions and did not allow them to take the child. If people had reported immediately about it, we would have taken action," he said.
The boy's brother Sheikh Ahamad, 26, said "by accident my brother got separated at the AIIMS metro station and boarded the train alone as the doors snapped shut leaving us stranded on the concourse".
The boy also said that the two unidentified men were trying to take him away with them.

"They held my hand and told me, come with us we are from your village and we'll take you back to your family," Salauddin said.

An eyewitness who also helped rescue the child and later took him to the metro officials said, "The duo looked like drug addicts and it was clear that they were not trying to help the child".
"They were saying they were from Nepal, the boy's family is from Bihar. How come they were from the same village they were claiming to be? One man was even holding the child's hand luring him to come with them. I did not allow them to take the child and some of us then took him to the metro officials," he said.
Ahamad said says their family hails from Motihari in Bihar. "Though I have been living in Delhi's Uttam Nagar for many years for my work but my brother had just come to the city a few days ago along with our mother. It is worrying to think as to what may have happened if the two men had taken him away.