A family is reunited with their mentally-challenged child, Rakib, six years after he went missing from Faridpur -- thanks to the efforts of Kushtia's Kumarkhali police station using Facebook.
The parents were overjoyed to get their lost child back. An emotional atmosphere was created at the police station on Sunday afternoon when the police handed over the child to his parents.
A few days ago, Rakib took shelter in a house in Kumarkhali during the storm. He stayed there for two days. Later, the locals left Rakib at Kumarkhali police station on Wednesday morning, without finding any trace of his guardian or address.
The police station offers a one-stop service for women, children, elderly and differently-abled people.
Police tried to talk to him to know his address. But he could not say his address correctly, Officer-in-Charge (OC) Mohsin Hossain said.
“Then we sent a message to every police station in the country that a child named Rakib has been found. At the same time, a post about this was given on the Facebook of Kumarkhali police station to find Rakib. Seeing that post, Rakib's parents came to the police station from Faridpur,” he told Dhaka Tribune.
Rakib is the son of Ratma Khatun and Mustafa Fakir of Jagannathdi village of Saltha Upazila in Faridpur. He stayed in various places including train stations and bus terminals.
Earlier, Kumarkhali police had left Rakib at Kushtia Sheikh Russell Child Training and Rehabilitation Centre. But he did not like to stay in a house and used to cry. Soon he left the place.
Rakib's father said his son is intellectually disabled since childhood. He left home about six years ago at the age of six without telling anyone. “We looked for him a lot in different places. But somehow I could not find it. Not finding him, I thought Rakib might not be alive.
“When Kumarkhali police station released Rakib's picture on Facebook, a villager informed me about it,” he told Dhaka Tribune.
