A boy who allegedly went missing in 2002 post-Godhra riot case of Gulbarg society, has been traced and his parents have started a fight to get his custody, social activist Teesta Setalwad said.

As many as 31 persons are still missing in the horrific post-Godhra incident of Gulbarg Society in which former Congress MP Ehsan Jafery was killed along with 36 other persons.

Muzzafar, a three-year-old boy at the time of the riots has been traced to Saraspur, where he has been staying with a Hindu family since 2002.

“Volunteers working to bring justice to the victims of Gulbarg Society case had traced the boy and informed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up by the Supreme Court to re-investigate major post-Godhra riot cases,” Setalwad told reporters here on Thursday.

Zebunnisa and Mohammad Salim Sheikh, parents of the boy, were called by SIT 25 days ago to take their blood samples for a DNA test. On July 14, 2008, they were called again by the SIT team and told that their missing son was found.

Teesta alleged that one police constable had handed over the boy, after the Gulbarg Society incident of February 28, 2002, to a childless couple, who were related to him.

The boy has been with Vikram Pattani’s family since then. Vikram died three years ago and the child is now with his wife.

Zebunnisa Sheikh, who approached the city metropolitan court to get back the custody of her child, was denied the same.

During the hearing the judge asked Pattani’s wife whether she was ready to hand over the custody of the boy to his original parents to which she refused. When Muzzafar, alias Vivek Pattani, now nine years, was asked the same, he said he wished to go with Pattani. After that, the judge disposed of the matter. Teesta said the parents of the boy have decided to move the High Court for the custody of their son.

“We lost him in 2002 riots. But we are extremely happy that we have found him again. God has been great to save him during the riots,” Zebunnisa said.