Police post picture of toddler on WhatsApp groups, neighbour identifies child; boy who lost his way around 4 p.m. on Tuesday was back home in 3 hours

A five-year-old boy was reunited with his family within three hours of losing his way home, thanks to the power of social media.

Around 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Subhan Ali had gone to a crowded local market in east Delhi’s Vishwas Nagar with his mother Iram. While roaming the market together Subhan let go off his mother’s hand. Due to the massive crowd, Subhan quickly got swept away and was unable to make his way back to his mother.

“For a while, the mother didn’t realise he wasn’t with her and when she did, she asked people around her, but he was nowhere to be found,” Sunil Sharma, Farsh Bazar Station House Officer, told The Hindu.

Desperately searching for his mother, the little toddler walked nearly 2 km before he was spotted by the police.

“He was crying incessantly. When we asked him where he lived, he could not give us an answer. We were clueless about how to get him to his parents,” said Mr. Sharma.

The police took the boy to Farsh Bazar police station where he was given some water. Officials tried again to ask Subhan where he lived, but were unable to get an answer.

At a loss for how to track down the boy’s parents, Mr. Sharma decided to click a picture of Subhan and post it on various WhatsApp groups.

“We are part of over 10 WhatsApp groups on which there are members from the Residents Welfare Association and ‘police mitras’, who assist police in various capacities. I posted the picture in these groups,” Mr. Sharma said.

The message read: “One boy namely Subhan… has been found roaming alone at Gali no 14 Vishwas Nagar. He is sitting in PS Farsh Bazar. Any clue about his parents/ house be informed accordingly”.

Good samaritan

Within 20 minutes of the picture being posted, one of the members of a WhatsApp group, Deepankar Kumar, identified the toddler and called the police.

“I saw his picture and realised that his house is on the street next to mine. I immediately called the police and then went to the boy’s house to inform his family,” Mr. Kumar told The Hindu.

He then took Subhan’s father Liyaqat Ali to the police station.

“His mother was crying. She was constantly asking where her child is. I asked her not to worry and told her that he has been found and is in the police station,” said Mr. Kumar.

The police said that it only took 20 minutes to find Subhan’s address after posting the picture. Emphasising the importance of social media, Mr Sharma said: “Had it not been for WhatsApp groups and having locals on it, the boy might not have been able to unite with his family so quickly”.