Boy reunited with family after 3 years

COIMBATORE: He was a 13-year-old boy when he ran away from home after his father scolded him for bunking school. He took a train to Mumbai and a compassionate hotelier offered him a job and shelter. After nearly three years, when the parents had lost all hope of getting back their only son and the police too closed the boy missing case as ‘untraceable’, Palanisamy received an SMS from a unknown number just mentioning his son’s name ‘Thambu Raj’ which revived his hope.“I was sure it was my son. I immediately petitioned the police,” said Palanisamy, who is a welder in a workshop at Sulur.The case was revived and after a hectic hunt to find the location of the unknown mobile, the police zeroed-in to the hotel where Thambu Raj was working for the last three years.“It was a long search as the SIM card was taken by submitting a fake address proof. We then had to trace the numbers frequently contacted from the number, and at last came across a Mysore resident who had seen the boy in a hotel at Dadar area in Mumbai.“We stationed in the area and checked every hotel, and found the missing boy,” said inspector Siva Kumar.“The boy had even changed his name as David and was visiting Churches regularly. We brought him here and informed the family,” said IGP, Vannia Perumal. It was a emotional moment for Thambu Raj’s mother Vijaya. “Even as a child he had a sharp memory power and that has now helped us to get back our son,” said Vijaya.