STRANGER THAN FICTION

 

Story of a Missing Man 

 By Special Correspondent 

Sometimes reality appears as stranger than fiction in our life! This is a story of a missing person  rescued, rehabilitated and reunited with his family. The credit goes to the renowned NGO Udavum Karangal in Tamil Nadu.

As we all know that Udavum Karangal, a 40 year old non-profit NGO in Tamil Nadu, strives to help the underprivileged by giving them meaningful education, good health and to the destitute a dignity of life by rescuing, rehabilitating and reuniting he/she to their respective family. 

It was on March 22nd, 2025, Udavum Karangal’s Social Workers noticed a man wandering at Poonamallee high road. He appeared mentally disoriented with time, date and poor self care. He had injuries on both feet (foot ulcers).  Immediately the social workers of the NGO Mr. Jacob, Mr. Shankar, and Shanawaaz reached out to him and he agreed to come to their Home for further management. 

Upon his arrival, he was given sumptuous food followed by a haircut, shave, a bath and good clothes to wear. Later part of the day a thorough medical check-up was also conducted by a physician to assess his health and provide the necessary treatment. He was prescribed psychiatric medications and first aid dressing, antibiotics was also provided for his foot ulcers.

Dharmendar Singh Rajput at the time of rescue

Mr. Srinivasa Rao  a senior social worker of Udavum Karangal is an expert in reuniting patients with their family anywhere in India even abroad. After counseling they got his name as Dharmendar Singh Rajput and also his address  (Siregaon, Gadarwara taluk, Narsinghpur district, Madhya Pradesh- 487551). With the help of google, Mr.Srinivasa Rao contacted nearby shops in his village and found his sister. However, she was not willing to take care of him. A few days later, his cousin brothers Ankush Rajpoot and Prasanth Rajput contacted the social workers and agreed to take Dharmendar Home.

On March 29, his cousin brothers came to Shanthivanam Udavum Karangal Home at Thiruverkadu. Mr. Dharmendar Singh Rajput was reunited with his cousin brothers on the same day on March 29. It was a happy reunion. During this process, the social workers gathered information about his past. According to his cousins, he has parents but no siblings or children. He has been struggling with mental health issues for 10 years, especially after his wife died by suicide. He had previously received treatment in Gwalior and Bhopal.  There were also family property disputes, which may have been a reason for his sister’s lack of support. His cousins agreed to take care of him. At the time of restoration, one month's medicines were given free and his cousin brothers were advised to follow up with a psychiatrist in his hometown. His cousin brothers were happy to see him and thanked Mr. S. Vidyaakar Founder Secretary Udavum Karangal (NGO) for rescuing, rehabilitating and reuniting their beloved brother to them.

 “What mental health needs is more sunlight, more candor, and more unashamed conversation." – Glenn Close.

Dharmendar Singh Rajput restored to his cousin brothers