He remembers being hungry, then nothing at all: How cross-border search helped Nepali man reunite with family

A Nepali man named Khadka Bahadur Som Bahadur Darji, aged 41, was reunited with his family in Nepal after wandering the streets of Nagpur for days with little recollection of how he reached the city. Darji, who hails from Niskot in Nepal's Myagdi district, left home around August 9-10 without informing his family. He journeyed to Delhi and then took a train to Tamil Nadu, during which he felt hungry and was offered dahi-bhaat (curd rice) by a fellow passenger. Darji remembers nothing further.

On August 12, Dhantoli Police discovered Darji wandering in Nagpur and transported him to the Aastha Shelter Centre. The challenge lay in tracing his family due to his limited information and the language barrier. News of a flash flood in Nepal prompted Darji's increasing concern for his family's safety.

Shelter coordinator Tushar Hukre consulted Kunda Katekhaye Bidkar, the Social Service Superintendent at the Regional Mental Hospital in Nagpur. Bidkar, who had previously assisted in reuniting families across the border, began working with the scant details Darji could recall. She reached out to police in Darbang, Nepal's Myagdi district, and also contacted Shaligram Tiwari, chairperson and chief adviser of the Mankamana Ekta Foundation in Thane. Tiwari contacted Darji via video call to gather more information about his identity and family.

With assistance from former Nepal Police DIG Prakash Adhikari, authorities finally located Darji's family and arranged a video call between him, his brother, and other relatives. On September 13, Darji's relative Dipak Shahi arrived at the Aastha Shelter Centre to escort Darji back home.