A runaway teen from Goregaon was traced and rescued in the middle of a suicide attempt on Friday evening, thanks to coordinated efforts by officers of two police stations.
According to the Vanrai police, the 15-year-old boy left his Goregaon residence at around 5.30 pm, after being scolded by his mother over pending homework. He left behind a cryptic note addressed to his friends, in which he said that he would “see them after they have grown very old”. After a frantic search, his parents approached the Vanrai police at around 7 pm.
While his father was submitting the boy's details and photograph to police sub-inspector Sangram Gawade, the teen called his mother from a stranger's phone and hung up, after saying that he was safe. Immediately, she informed her husband, who was at the police station. The entire matter was overheard by assistant police inspector (API) Srirang Chintaman, the duty officer for the day, who was sitting at the next table.
“I called the number that the boy had called from, and it turned out that he had randomly approached a man on the road and asked to use his phone. I asked the man his current location, and he said he was at the Chhota Kashmir lake in Aarey,” Chintaman recalled.
The cops decided to leave the formalities and paperwork for later, and Chintaman, Gawade and the boy's father set out towards the lake. It was peak hour on the Western Express Highway at the time, and the entire highway was jammed with traffic. The two cops and the worried father sped to Aarey on a motorbike, with Gawade expertly weaving in and out of the traffic.
On the way, Chintaman called up his friend and colleague, API Ulhas Kholam, with the Aarey police station, and asked him to rush to the spot as well. Kholam was already at the spot and searching for the boy by the time the trio reached there.
“The entire area was pitch dark and we used the flashlights of our cell phones to search for the boy. Fortunately, within a few minutes, we spotted the boy sitting in the bushes at the edge of the lake. He was completely soaked with water and covered in mud. We later learned that he had tried to end his life but failed,” Chintaman said.
The cops coaxed the boy away from the lake and took him to the Aarey police station. They also informed their superiors about the boy being rescued successfully. Subsequently, deputy commissioner of police (Zone XI) Somnath Gharge reached the police station to counsel the boy and his parents.
Elated over reunion with his son, the father wrote to Commissioner of Police Sanjay Pandey and heaped praises on the three officers for swift life-saving action.
