It has been two weeks since a 11-year-old, speech-impaired boy from Otteri has been missing, even as his family has taken to a social networking site and television shows to trace him.
Ehataesham, the son of Mohammad Ikram, a salesman from Krishnadas Street, Jamalia, went by himself to a park near the Perambur Flyover on July 29 to play. His parents, who were then fasting for Ramzan, were asleep at 11.30 am when the boy left home.
“He is not only speech-impaired, but also suffers from lack of growth in his brain. His mother or brothers would usually take him to the park and he recently started going by himself. But he would always return within three hours,” said his father Mohammad Ikram.
Third among four sons, Ehataesham was not sent to school because of his speech-impairment and was usually locked inside the house. After his parents realised that he had not returned home, they searched for him, before lodging a complaint with the Otteri Police.
While police investigations were on, his parents sought many other ways to trace their son. With help from relatives, they posted his photograph and identification details on a social networking site, where it made rounds. But any information regarding the boy’s whereabouts is yet to be received. “We asked regional newspapers to publish details about him, but they said it would cost Rs 12,000. Where will we go for so much money? TV channels said they have no slot for missing persons,” the boy’s father rued.
After many desperate attempts to publicise information about the missing boy, a private radio channel and a television channel telecast the details, much to the relief of the parents.
According to family members, last week, they received a call from Dindigul soon after the television show was telecast, informing them that a boy with similar features was found there. “We informed the local police about it, but we have no concrete information of his whereabouts so far. We hope that he is safe,” he said.
Police said they have taken steps to find the boy, but in vain. “We have sent the boy’s photograph to the media but we have not been able trace him so far,” said Alexender, Police Inspector, Otteri Police Station.
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