Nepali boy repatriated home after two years

Tribune News Service

Patiala, March 6

A 16-year-old boy, who was living at Children Home in Rajpura for more than two years, has been sent to his native place in Nepal following efforts of the district administration and District and Sessions Judge Rajinder Aggarwal.

District child protection officer Harpreet Kaur said they had rescued boy from Barnala district around two years ago. Several efforts were made to trace his home, however, they failed as the boy did not speak might be out of fear, she added.

However, last year, the boy somehow revealed that he came from Nepal, which helped us trace his parents, she said.

“We continued our efforts and in December last year the boys parents were identified. The child could not be deported to Nepal as the matter related another country,” she added.

“Consequently, the Punjab State Legal Services Authority, SAS Nagar, took up the matter with the state government and the Ministry of External Affairs, Northern Division, New Delhi, for repatriation of the child to his country. And the efforts bore fruits,” she said.

“Initially, it was tough as the kid did not speak much. However, we kept on searching about his parents. On getting information that he belonged to Nepal, we found his parents,” she added.

With collaborative efforts, the boy, identified as Prem Thapa, was handed over to a representative of an NGO “Kin Nepal” in New Delhi. The Nepal-based NGO will now take the child to his country and hand him over to his parents.