Father’s five-year wait ends as missing son comes home from Karnataka Ashram

What began as a desperate search for work ended in five years of silence, uncertainty and separation before a determined interstate police operation finally reunited a Jhargram family with their missing son.

Thirty-four-year-old Binaykrishna Mudi of Chandabila in Jhargram town, who disappeared in February 2021 after leaving home in search of employment, was traced to an ashram in Karkala in Karnataka’s Udupi district and brought back to West Bengal by Jhargram Police. He was produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate’s Court in Jhargram on Wednesday and, following legal formalities, was reunited with his family.

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According to police, Binaykrishna left home on 9 February 2021 without informing his family of his destination. His father, Prankrishna Mudi, said his son had befriended drivers of long-distance goods trucks that regularly travelled from Jhargram to southern states and had boarded one of the vehicles hoping to find work despite having little money.

“He left home early in the morning saying he was going to work. We later learnt that he had travelled with a truck to Kerala in search of a livelihood,” Prankrishna said.

Days later, the family received a brief call from an unknown number. Binaykrishna told his father that he had reached Thiruvananthapuram by mistake and was in serious difficulty. By the time the family tried to call back, the phone had been switched off. A second brief call from Tamil Nadu followed sometime later, but communication was again lost.

On 24 February 2021, Prankrishna lodged a missing person complaint at Jhargram police station. For the next five years, the family had no information about his whereabouts.

Police said the breakthrough came recently after investigators traced a mobile phone number that led them to Suraksha Ashram in Karkala. Assistant Sub-Inspector Bimal Kumar Majhi and Constable Lalchand Behera travelled to Karnataka, where they were assisted by Karkala Town Police. After completing the required legal formalities on 18 July, they took custody of Binaykrishna and brought him back to Jhargram.

Recounting what he later learnt, Prankrishna said his son had wandered across Kerala and Tamil Nadu in a distressed condition before reaching Karnataka. He was reportedly found roaming near a bus stand in Karkala, after which local police took him to the police station, provided him with food and later placed him in the care of Suraksha Ashram.

“He was not mistreated there. They looked after him and he stayed in the ashram for nearly five years, helping with small maintenance and caregiving work,” the father said. He added that language barriers and the family’s poor financial condition prevented them from tracing him earlier.

The family had earlier alleged that they were initially asked to arrange Rs 5 lakh to secure Binaykrishna’s release. They subsequently approached Ashok Mahato, central president of Junglemahal Swaraj Morcha, who took up the matter with the police administration. Following this, Jhargram Police initiated the interstate rescue operation.

Prankrishna expressed gratitude to Jhargram Police, local residents and members of community organisations who helped raise funds for the family’s journey to Karnataka. “Without the support of the police, local people and volunteers, it would not have been possible to bring my son home,” he said.

Although Binaykrishna has returned safely, his father said he would now undergo medical examination and treatment to help him recover after years away from home. Police said further inquiries are underway into the circumstances that led to his prolonged stay at the Karnataka ashram.