HAM operators reunite ‘child-lift suspect’ with family after 15 years

Kolkata: A 68-year-old woman, Chhobi Jyoti, suffering from memory loss, who had been missing for 15 years, was reunited with her family in Singur, Hooghly, with the joint efforts of police and HAM radio operators after being detained in Gangasagar amid rumours of child-lifters.According to cops, for the past few days, panic had spread across parts of Gangasagar under Sundarbans police district following rumours that child-lifters were roaming in the locality. "Local residents in Bankimnagar and adjoining areas noticed an elderly woman wandering aimlessly and behaving in a suspicious manner. She failed to give any clear answers, which further fuelled doubts among the residents," a senior cop of Sagar PS said. Suspecting her to be a child-lifter, locals detained her and informed the police. Sagar PS cops rescued her from the crowd and brought her to the police station for questioning."During interrogation, it became clear that the woman was mentally unstable and unable to recall basic details about herself," the cop added.As the police tried to ascertain her identity and help her return home, they sought assistance from Ambarish Nag Biswas, secretary of the West Bengal Radio Club (WBRC), whose HAM radio operators often help trace missing persons and reconnect them with their families. "After making several inquiries, the HAM radio operators identified her as Chhobi Jyoti, a resident of Dighaldanga village under Mirzapur-Bankimpur gram panchayat in Singur PS area of Hooghly district," Nag Biswas told TOI.Divas Mondal, an enthusiast of the HAM radio network, said they contacted Singur police station to verify the details and locate the woman's family. Police then arranged a video call between the elderly woman and her son, Surajit. Both mother and son recognised each other immediately.Surajit said his mother had gone missing nearly 15 years ago, sometime after his father's death. The long wait finally came to an end on Tuesday when Surajit with other relatives arrived at Sagar PS and took his mother back home to Singur.