A 40-year-old man with mental disabilities, who was found by security personnel of the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) after he ventured into a restricted area in July, was reunited with his family after a long search.
A city-based rescue and rehab centre tracked down the family of the man, identified as Sandeep Singh, to his native Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh.
Mr. Sandeep was found by KIA security personnel in the restricted area of the south parallel runway watch tower on July 31. He was questioned by the staff, who then realised that he had mental disabilities and brought him to the Sumana Ellen Trust on Old Madras Road, run by Lakshmi Narayana.
When Mr. Sandeep was brought in, he was aggressive and only remembered his name, Mr. Narayana recalled. After counselling and care, it was found that he was reportedly addicted to drugs and also had psychological disorders.
The trust members, after days of interaction, gathered some details on his native place through the name of a theatre, river, and a village name. The members checked the available information online and managed to contact an NGO, Janaseva Kendra, and spoke to Vivek Kumar Singh and got the contacts of Mr. Sandeep’s family.
The family confirmed that Mr. Sandeep was their son through a photograph shared on the mobile phone, but they reportedly declined to take him back as they were upset with his aggressive behaviour and not interested in getting him treated.
Inquiries revealed that Mr. Sandeep, a high school drop-out, was addicted to drugs and his family got him married believing that he would mend his ways after marriage. But Mr. Sandeep continued with his old habits and was not working, following which his wife left him and returned to her parents.
Mr. Sandeep became more aggressive and ran away from home 13 years ago. The police managed to trace him then and reunited him with his family, but he reportedly attacked his mother and escaped again, before landing at the Bengaluru airport .
Mr. Narayana called his brother Vijay Bahadur, who works in Bengaluru as a carpenter, and after several rounds of counselling, it was decided that the trust would rehabilitate Mr. Sandeep and get him treated at NIMHANS for a few more months.
