Decade after going missing, youth reunites with family in Handwara

SRINAGAR — Police on Thursday reunited with his family a 24-year-old youth who had gone missing mysteriously from his home in Sochuldari area of Villgam in north Kashmir’s Handwara in December 2010.

SHO Villgam Iftikhar Ahmad, briefing media persons while handing over the youth to family, said that the youth — Mohammad Ashraf Chauhan (24) son of Fazal Din Chauhan — had gone missing in December 2010.

The person being resident of a catchment area with dense forests around, the family thought that he had been killed by some wild beast. However, it was only some three months before that police got traces that the youth is alive, the officer said.

“On utilizing all possible human resources with collective efforts from SSP and SP concerned, we were able to retrieve him from Srinagar,” he added.

Asked as to what circumstances led to the youth go missing, the officer citing family sources said that he had been psychologically unwell at that time. “He even had been hesitant in returning home to evade backlash from family,” the officer said.

During all these years, he worked at many places including in Jammu and Srinagar, the officer said, adding that upon tracing, he was working as a painter at IUST Srinagar.

It nevertheless is a big achievement that a person has been reunited with his family after all these years and “we feel highly elated for dispensing our role in this act”, the officer said.

A missing report in this regard was filed then, which has been closed now, the officer informed.