Missing Guj man reunites with kin in Kol after 7 yrs
Times of India | 14 January 2026
Kolkata: A man from Baroda who went missing in Aug 2018 after leaving home to buy milk was reunited with his family in Kolkata on Monday evening. In the interim period, his mother died within one year of his disappearance, not knowing that her son was alive, and the govt declared him civil dead.
Earlier this month, when counsellors asked the man his name, the answer came haltingly but clearly, and that single recollection helped them reunite Amol Chandrakant Khiste with his family, successfully concluding a case that stretched nearly 7 years and hundreds of kilometres. Doctors in Pavlov Hospital and counsellors at NGO Iswar Sankalpa played a significant role in reuniting him with his family.
In Aug 2018, Khiste, then 36, left his home in Baroda with Rs 100 to buy milk. When he did not return even after several hours, the family started a search, which continued for several months.
According to his father, Chandrakant Dattatraya Khiste, a businessman, his son struggled with mental health issues since class X and was on medication. He earlier went to Dubai for work but returned because of his condition. "Earlier, when he left home, we could find him in a few days," the father said. "This time, when we couldn't, we gradually lost hope. His mother passed away and I lost all interest in business and other activities."
Khiste told his story in pieces, which counsellors later put together. He boarded a train to Mumbai and drifted across cities, mostly living on streets. During Covid, he reached Kolkata, wandering from place to place. In 2023, Barasat PS found him and, recognising the need for care and rehabilitation, admitted him to Pavlov, where he remained under supervision for several months. He was named Hrishabh as he was not speaking at all.
Doctors later shifted him to Pratyay Half Way Home, a govt-run facility for patients from Pavlov and Lumbini Park Mental Hospital transitioning back to society as he had recovered but was not ready to live independently. . In Jan, the NGO took over his case. Through counselling, counsellors gradually pieced together his past, said Sarbani Das, secretary, Iswar Sankalpa. Eventually, Khiste recalled his address in Gujarat and details about his family. On Monday evening, his father and a cousin arrived at Pratyay. Khiste recognised them immediately.