Raj man returns to family he couldn’t remember
BERHAMPORE: For 37-year-old Dharambir Das, a mental hospital in Bengal’s Berhampore district was home for two years. On Friday night, he was put by the local police on a train to New Delhi, bringing to an end a story that could well have been scripted in Bollywood.
Das, a resident of Khoh village in Rajasthan’s Bharatpur district , was found wandering aimlessly near Azimgunj railway station in Murshidabad, West Bengal, in September 2016.
Till a few weeks ago, he could not remember who he was.
“When he was found, Das was speaking his dialect and some Hindi words, but nothing he said made sense to the local people. He could not even remember his name or where he came from,” said the officer-in-charge of Jiagunj police station Abhijit Basu Mallick.
“We realised that he needs treatment and asked a Lalbagh court to allow us to take him to Berhampore mental hospital. Our appeal was granted. We admitted Das in hospital on October 29, 2016,” he added.
Das did not respond to treatment for over a year. His condition started improving only this January. He told the doctors that was from a village in Bharatpur.
“On November 19, the hos- pital authorities told us that Das was feeling much better and we could meet him. Based on what Das told us, we contacted the Lakshmangarh police station in Rajasthan. The Rajasthan police helped us contact Das’s mother... in Kafanwada village,” the officer said.
The family, who thought they would never see Das again, were stunned at hearing that he was well.
Ajay Kumar, his brotherin-law who came to take him home, said Das went to Delhi in 2015 to work as labourer at a construction site. But he went missing in 2016.
“Our family will always be grateful to Murshidabad police for taking care of Dharambir for two years,” said Ajay Kumar.
The police, on their part, said they are happy their patience has been rewarded.