Thanks to WhatsApp, it is a happy family once again

M'luru's good Samaritan helps chance visitor from Jammu reach home

A 19-year-old youth from Ramgarh in Jammu who landed in Mangaluru after he was thrown out from a truck transporting apples, in an unknown place, re-united with his family members on Wednesday. This is thanks to WhatsApp which helped him trace his family members in Jammu.

Kumar boarded the truck as a helper to the driver in October.
A minor scuffle which broke out between the driver and Kumar ended up in the former throwing out the latter (he is not aware where as he has studied only up to class four). As Kumar did not have any money or idea where he was, he boarded a train. He finally landed in Mangaluru.

Since then, he was staying at the Amar Alva bus stand near Nagori here. Initially, everyone ignored him for a few days as he used to be all by himself. Chandranna, the owner, and the staff of Durga canteen - opposite the bus stop - gave him food regularly.
James Lobo (name changed as per his wish), a good Samaritan who noticed Kumar, met him regularly. When Lobo’s efforts to trace Kumar’s family did not yield results, he requested a journalist to help him.

The journalist tried to contact Delhi Press Club president Rahul Jalali and Jammu Deputy Superintendent of Police S M Sanyal. But that did not help too.

Finally, the good Samaritan requested his friends to pass on the message to any person in Jammu.  When one of his friends Merwyn randomly contacted an employee of Shankar Industries in Jammu, he shared Kumar’s photograph in his group on WhatsApp.

Within two days, Kumar’s brother Raj Kumar contacted Lobo. He, along with his friend Vijay Chitra, a BSF soldier (who has also served in the National Security Guard for five years) arrived in Mangaluru on Wednesday.

Raj Kumar thanked James for helping in finding his brother.
“I never thought that I would meet my brother,” he said with tears in his eyes and added that his parents were overwhelmed to know that Kumar was alive. But they were perplexed when they came to know that Kumar was in Mangaluru, 3,600 km away from home.

Chitra said that he could not believe that there are people who would go out of their way to help an unknown man from another part of the nation.

“All that Praveen used to say is that he is from Ramgarh, his father’s name is Motilal and sister lives in Samba, the neighbouring district,” said Lobo. The trio left for Jammu on Thursday.