Perwez Alam with his father Image Credit: Sharjah Police

Sharjah: The Indian boy Perwez Alam, missing for more than two weeks from Sharjah, has been found in Ajman, Gulf News can exclusively reveal.

Police sources confirmed to Gulf News that the boy was found in the neighbouring emirate.

The Sharjah Police General Command was able to locate and reunite the 15-year-old Mohammad Perwez.

Police informed his father, and the happy father went to the police station to receive his son.

Reward announced

Earlier in the day, the father of Perwez had announced a reward to anyone who returns his missing son as the search to find the teen has been expanded to Kalba, located on the East coast of Sharjah.

Mohammad Aftab Alam told Gulf News he’s offering Dh5,000 for the safe return of his 15-year-old son who has been missing from his home in Sharjah’s Muweilah area since July 4.

“I would just like to see him come home safe. Our lives have become a wreck. Perwez’s mother is inconsolable and stares all day at the door in the fervent hope that our son will show up any time,” said Alam, shortly after returning from Kalba on Thursday afternoon.

“A three-member team of the Child Protection deparment took me to Kalba where my brother Mohammad Firoz lives with his family. They were hoping to find some clues there,” said Alam, originally from the Indian state of Bihar.

Several leads have been chased since Perwez went missing but none have panned out so far.

It is believed the Grade IX student got upset and ran away from his house in the wee hours of July 4 when his mother chided him for watching historical Hindi drama Razia Sultan on YouTube and snatched his smartphone. Alam said Perwez had just Dh8 with him.

At first the family thought the boy would come back by afternoon but when he didn’t turn up until late evening they got worried and alerted the police, sparking a city-wide hunt.

As part of their search operations, Sharjah Police has been combing mosques, public places and under-construction buildings in Muweilah.

There are no CCTV cameras in the vicinity.

“The police even sifted through all his school books, hoping to find a message that he would have left for us. There were none. They also examined my nephew’s laptop which my son uses occasionally,” said Alam, a supervisor in an air conditioning company owned by his brother Firoze Alam.

Meanwhile, it has emerged that an old bicycle has been missing from the three-storied Building No. 3443 where the family lives.

“The owner of the bicycle claims it has been missing since Pervez disappeared. I don’t know if the two incidents are connected, but I have informed the police nonetheless. Assuming that Perwez stole the bicycle, how far can he possibly go? How can he survive for two weeks with barely any money,” wondered Alam who has been living in the UAE since 1998.

The eldest of three children, Perwez is a student of Delta English School, located within a stone’s throw of his house, His sisters Sana, 13, Aasia, 7, and Al Safa, 5 said they prayed for their brother’s return.

Alam said Perwez is a sports enthusiast who excels in football and traditional games like kabaddi and kho-kho. “He did not display any behaviour that could explain why he would run away. No parent should endure that we are going through,” he said.

Timeline:

July 3: Pervez gets a scolding from his mother Tusi Parveen for watching a Hindi serial on his father’s cellphone till late night

July 4: Family wakes up to find Pervez missing. It is believed he slipped away from the house after midnight. A missing report is lodged after he doesn’t return until late evening

July 5: Sharjah Police launch city-wide hunt, comb neighbouring areas

July 16: Police use social media to seek public’s help in finding the teen