Mentally challenged youth reunited with family from Bihar, thanks to Bengal police

Officers of Jiyaganj police station in Murshidabad reunited Aftab Ansari, a mentally challenged youth from Bihar, with his family members on Wednesday, barely a month after the cops of another police station from the same district handed over a young man from Uttar Pradesh to his family after treating him for a year.

Ansari was handed over to his family on Thursday evening after orders from the court.

Earlier this month, police of Bhaganbangola police station of the same district arranged for the treatment of 32-year-old Mohammad Jafar for almost two years before tracing his family at Sai Bujurg village of Sant Kabirnagar district of Uttar Pradesh and reuniting him with his family.

“I am very happy that the doctors and police officers of Murshidabad took the initiative of curing my son,” said Ansari’s father Murataj Sheikh.

He said his son had been missing from February 8 last year. “I don’t know how he reached Murshidabad.”

Ansari has two children but his wife left him recently.

Abhijit Basu Mallick, officer-in-charge of Jiaganj police station, said Ansari was found roaming aimlessly near Azimganj police station on February 10 last year.

“When locals asked his address and name, he couldn’t say anything. They handed him over to us,” Mallick said.

On preliminary interrogation, the officers realised the youth was mentally challenged, and they prayed to the judge of the Lalbagh court to allow the police to get him treated at Berhampore mental hospital.

“The youth suffered from mental illness since childhood but he did not get proper treatment,” Mallick said.

The youth did not respond to the treatment initially. But his condition slowly started improving from November last year. On January 12, he told the doctors that his name is Aftab Ansari (30) and he was a resident of Dhopsanda village of Banka district in Bihar.

Officers of Jiaganj police station contacted the police station of Bihar and the village headman to contact Ansari’s family, and reunited the youth with his family.

Courtesy: Hindustan Times