Kidnapped man meets family after 31 years

“I cried a lot.” Raju was just seven years old when three kidnappers took him far away from his family. This is how he found his way back.

Transcript

00:00Kidnapped as a 7-year-old, Raju was reunited with his family after a long wait of 31 years.

00:06This story of hope and resilience came from Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh.

00:10Raju was now 39 years old, but his mother said he vividly remembered specific details

00:15even after being forced away from his family as a child.

00:18Raju, who was kidnapped in 1993 when he and his sister were waiting to be picked up from

00:31school.

00:32He was 7-years-old.

00:33Then, three men in a tempo kidnapped Raju.

00:53The kidnappers took Raju to Jaisalmer where he was forced to work as a shepherd.

00:57As per reports, a child went missing in India every 8 minutes.

01:18Millions of children who were taken away from their families were forced into labour, sex

01:23work and domestic slavery.

01:25According to the latest National Crime Records Bureau data, 76,069 children were reported

01:31missing in India in 2022.

01:33The same report said kidnapping and abduction was the topmost crime against children, followed

01:38by rape.

01:39Fortunately for Raju, a kind truck driver offered to help him find his way out of Jaisalmer.

01:47He said when he reached Ghaziabad, he sought help from the police.

02:17One of those looking for their children was Raju's mother.

02:47When Raju came back home, family members and locals surrounded him, seemingly wanting

02:57to catch up on all the years they'd not been able to spend together.