Bengali boy goes missing from Kollam, feared to have left by train

Kollam: A 12-year-old Class 7 student hailing from West Bengal has gone missing from the city. The child's father, who suspects his son may have boarded a train to their home state, has alleged that the police failed to act in time despite being alerted early.

The missing boy has been identified as Abraham Oraon, son of Birender, a native of Kalchini in West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri District. The family resides in a rented house at Vikas Nagar in Pattathanam, where Birender works as a daily-wage labourer. Abraham’s mother and four-year-old sister had recently returned to Bengal, and it is suspected that the boy set out to reunite with them.

Abraham went missing after 4:30 pm on Thursday. CCTV footage from the neighbourhood captured him riding away on his bicycle shortly after returning from school.

Around 10:00 pm, the bicycle was found abandoned near the Kollam railway station. Although Birender had reached the Kollam East Police Station as early as 7:00 pm, the police registered a First Information Report (FIR) only around 10:30 p m By then, two Kolkata-bound trains—the Shalimar Express and the Vivek Express had already departed the station.

Birender’s friends managed to search the Vivek Express down the line, but found no trace of him. It is now feared that the child may have boarded the earlier Shalimar Express, which is scheduled to arrive in Kolkata this afternoon.

Abraham has no money, extra clothes, or bag with him. He wears black-rimmed glasses, stands about 4 feet tall, has a dusky complexion, and is of slim build. A notable distinguishing feature is that he has six fingers on his left hand.

Both the Kollam East Police and the Railway Protection Force (RPF) have stated that an intensive search is underway. Anyone with information regarding the boy's whereabouts is requested to contact the police or RPF at 0474 2742072 (Kollam East Police Station).