Ham radio unites missing son of ex-customs officer with kin

kolkata: The son of a retired customs officer from Kolkata, who had gone missing during the family's visit to Kanyakumari in December last year, has been traced by ham radio operators.

The septuagenarian father of the victim, Dilip Kumar Burman, left for Chennai by flight on Friday night to bring his son back home. Burman's son Sandeep is presently in safe custody of the local police station of Kanyakumari from where he was traced.

Sandeep Burman, who used to work at a private management company in Mumbai after completing his MBA, had taken his parents on a visit to Kanyakumari in December from where he went missing.

"We had searched for our missing son for some days after cancelation of our return ticket to Kolkata, but our efforts proved futile. A few days ago, I learnt about Ambarish Nag Biswas, the secretary and custodian of West Bengal Radio Club- an organisation of ham radio enthusiasts that has its expertise in tracing missing persons and contacted him, " said Burman.

Nag Biswas asked for a photograph of Sandeep and circulated it among his counterparts in Chennai. On Friday morning, he was located while begging for alms at a place in Kanyakumari. The appearance of the victim had changed so much that his mother could not recognise Sandeep initially when his present photograph was shared. However, his father identified him to be his son, who had gone missing.

Burman informed that his son was suffering from some mental problems for the last few years. "Considering the age of Burman one of our ham operator Debdutta Mukherjee has accompanied the elderly father to bring back his son safely to their residence in Behala,"Nag Biswas said.