HAM brings back 29 ‘lost & found’ voters from Nepal for SIR hearings
Times of India | 19 January 2026
Kolkata: Around 29 persons suffering from memory loss from different districts in West Bengal, including a man from Sodepur who had been missing for several years and were lodged in various homes in Nepal, were identified, traced, and brought back to India. They will be produced at the ongoing SIR hearing sessions and reunited with their families, following coordinated efforts by the Indian Embassy in Nepal and HAM radio enthusiasts.
According to sources, 29 Indian nationals who had gone missing from Bengal and several other states in India and were scattered across different locations in Nepal have been traced and brought back to India to appear in ongoing SIR hearings. The repatriation was made possible through a special joint initiative involving the Indian Embassy in Nepal, HAM radio operators, and a Nepal-based voluntary organisation.
"Concerns had been raised that the names of those missing Indians could be deleted during the SIR process. In view of this, a letter was also written to the Chief Election Commissioner seeking intervention. Acting on requests from families of the missing persons, HAM radio operators and West Bengal Radio Club (WBRC) approached both the Indian Embassy in Nepal and the Nepal Embassy in Kolkata, urging the early return of Indian nationals — many of them mentally challenged persons — who had crossed the border and were living in Nepal," said Ambarish Nag Biswas, secretary of WBRC.
The efforts finally bore fruit on Sunday, when all 29 Indians were repatriated to the country through the Jogbani border, Araria in Bihar along the India-Nepal frontier. Among them are 17 men and 12 women, hailing from North and South 24 Parganas as well as other parts of India.
"The operation was carried out with the cooperation of Nepal's Manav Sevashram Sangh and the Nepal Lions Club. Deepak Kumar Karan of Biratnagar Green City Lions Club, along with Manav Sevashram Sangh Nepal and Maharashtra-based Dr Bharat Vatwani Shraddha Rehabilitation Centre, played a key role in making the mission successful," Nag Biswas added. One of those brought back is 31-year-old Abhishek Ghosh from Natagarh in Sodepur. "Since their names could have been dropped from the electoral roll on the ground that they were not in the country, they were brought back urgently," Biswas said. He said the repatriated individuals will initially receive medical care at the Maharashtra-based rehabilitation centre before being reunited with their families.