A seven-year-old orphan from Solapur, who mysteriously ended up in an outstation train, was found wandering in south Mumbai on Friday. He is too confused to give a coherent statement and the police is worried that he might end up as one of the many children in the Dongri remand home with no future.
According to the Azad Maidan police, the boy, identified as Aditya Waghmare, was spotted roaming aimlessly near the CST railway station on Friday evening. A south Mumbai resident, who was on her way home after alighting from a train at CST, spotted Aditya and asked him where his parents were. However, when he could not offer any coherent answers, she took him to the Azad Maidan police station.
“Aditya reached Mumbai three days ago and has
been wandering near the station since then. He had not eaten since his arrival and was hungry and
weak by the time he was found,” said Sharad Kumbhar, police sub-inspector, Azad Maidan police station.
Inquiries till now have only revealed that Aditya lost both his parents some years ago, after which he started living with his grandparents. Since the tragedy, he took to wandering around in his native Barshi, Solapur.
However, when asked about his arrival in Mumbai, Aditya only said that he somehow got into an outstation train and alighted at Mumbai. He has not been able to offer a clearer explanation, and the police has decided to give him some more days before he is questioned again.
“The correctional facility houses minors convicted of crimes, and we don’t want Aditya to be in prolonged contact with them. It is by sheer good luck that he did not fall prey to any criminal elements for the three days that he was wandering near the station,” said an officer with the Azad Maidan police.