Mentally-ill man reunites with family after 11 years

Kolkata: A 47-year-old mentally-retarded man, who was estranged from his family for more than 11 years, will unite with his mother after ham radio operators successfully managed to trace his family members in Tamil Nadu.

"We have managed to trace the residence of Janaki Raman after a frantic search through our counterpart based in Tamil Nadu. We showed his picture to his mother Vijaymmal and brother Vadivelu and learnt that he was missing from home for more than 11 years. Janaki's brother is coming to Kolkata on Sunday night to receive him," Ambarish Nag Biswas, custodian and secretary of West Bengal Radio Club (WBRC), an organisation of ham radio enthusiasts in the state said.

It was a year back Janaki Raman was found eating food from the garbage on the streets near Bongaon.

He was behaving unusually and some passersby started were found teasing him.

However, some benevolent locals admitted him to the Bongaon government hospital for treatment.

The doctors were in a dilemma as they were unable to understand his language. It was only an aged nurse who used to communicate and coordinate with him through facial expression.

"After the person became fit after prolonged treatment, the hospital authorities sought help from WBRC to bridge the language barrier. We recorded Janaki's speech with the nurse and shared it with other known ham radio operators across the country. Manjunath R, a member of Indian Institute of Hams recognized his language as Tamil," Biswas added.

Manjunath asked Janaki his address and came to know that his mother and elder brother stayed in Villupuram district in Tamil Nadu. Janaki's mother and brother recognised him at once after seeing his picture.

Janaki was a labourer. He got married but at present his wife not living with her in- laws.

"Our next challenge is to find out where Janaki's wife is staying. We want to unite the couple. We are the thankful to the police administration for their co-operation," said Biswas.

WBRC, an organisation of Ham radio enthusiasts in the state, use a variety of voice, text, image and data communication modes to communicate.