Boy missing since Feb 9 still untraceable, cops clueless

A 55-year-old painter, Nafeesh Ahmed, has been running from pillar to post to trace his 16-year-old son Faiz Alam, who went missing on the night of February 9 in Jalandhar.

A resident of Tej Mohan Nagar in Basti Sheikh, Faiz had set out to offer evening prayers from his house but didn't return. The Jalandhar police said according to the CCTV footage, the boy got into an auto but has not been traced, due to inadequate footage of the auto's route.

An FIR was registered under Section 127 (6) (wrongful confinement) of the BNS against unknown persons on February 10.

The FIR, registered on the complaint by Nafeesh Ahmed (55), states that his son (16), a student of Class X at School of Eminence, Bhargo Camp, went out for namaz (evening prayer) on February 9 at 9 pm from his house but did not return. Nafeesh expressed suspicion that an unknown person was "keeping my son hidden somewhere".

Nafeesh lives with his wife and three children (including one daughter and two sons), at Tej Mohan Nagar. He has gone to look for Faiz at Jammu, Amritsar, Nurmahal, Nakodar, etc. in the past over a month.

The police also said a detailed search had been launched to look for the boy.

As per CCTV footage, the youth was seen sitting in an auto on his way back from the mosque, but due to the absence of CCTV footage of the entire stretch of the road, he was not traceable.

Nafeesh said, "He went out only with the clothes he was wearing and a pair of chappals. That was the last time we saw him. I'm a painter and earn barely enough to keep my family afloat. I have no enemies. Faiz's mother refuses to eat. We have looked everywhere we could."

Nafeesh has met the Commssioner of Police twice, along with the ACP Harshpreet Singh, and has also appealed to the Cabinet Minister and Jalandhar West MLA Mohinder Bhagat to find his missing son.

Sahil Chaudhary, SHO, Division number 5 police station, said, "The CCTV footage reveals that the child had an auto ride after coming out of the mosque. Since the auto's registration number is unclear in the footage, we haven't been able to trace it. The youth did not take any phone with him, so we can't trace his location. Searches have also been made at madrasas in Kartarpur, etc, and friends and acquaintances have been questioned."

ACP-2 West Harshpreet Singh said, "We are missing the trail of the auto that the boy hired. But investigations are proceeding in the case technically and we're tracking the Insta ID and social media accounts of the youth. We will also be issuing notices throughout India as per protocol."