Kolkata: On Saturday at around 10.00 AM in the morning, Sergeant Tuhin Roychowdhury of Headquarter Traffic Guard was on duty in the BBD Bag area when he noticed an elderly man seated on a pavement, looking aimless and pale. Clearly, he hadn’t had anything to eat for quite a while.
Mr. Tuhin immediately arranged some food and water, and when the gentleman had recovered his bearings somewhat, he said his name was Madhab Mondal, that he was 80 years old and a resident of Pandua in Hooghly district. Mr. Tuhin relayed the information to Headquarters Guard, who then reached out to Hare Street Police Station.
Soon after, Sub Inspector Mr. Shekhar Sarkar arrived on the scene from the police station and took Mr. Mondal back with him. By now, the elderly gentleman was growing restless and kept telling the police that he had four sons but could not remember any of their contact details. Neither could he recall exactly how he had landed up in Kolkata.
After a protracted effort, Pandua resident Ashok Hansda, a civic volunteer with Headquarter Traffic Guard, finally ascertained that Mr. Mondal was a resident of Talbona village in Pandua, and Pandua Police Station confirmed the existence of such a village in their jurisdiction. However, with no means of contacting his family, Sub-Inspector Mr. Sarkar arranged a vehicle to take Mr. Mondal to his residence, with the fare to be paid by Mr. Tuhin and Sub-Inspector Mr. Sarkar himself.
Civic volunteers Mr. Hansda and Mr. Ajay Belda, and constable Mr. Manotosh Das of Hare Street Police Station accompanied Mr. Mondal to Pandua in the hired vehicle, and he finally had a tearful reunion with his family, with assistance from Pandua Police Station.
Our, Reporter in Chief
R. Manoj Kumar Sharma
Siliguri City, West Bengal
