Shimla — Braving the harsh winter of Shimla, an elderly mentally ill man, missing for five months, finally reunited with his family after being rescued from the chilling streets by the joint efforts of the Umang Foundation and the Shimla Police.
For weeks, Ranbir Singh (65), a resident of Jodhan Khurd village in Panipat, Haryana, had been living in a rain shelter near Taland bus stop, struggling to survive the biting cold. His health deteriorated as temperatures dipped, and without proper care, his life hung in the balance.
It was the intervention of Prof. Ajay Srivastava, president of Umang Foundation, that set the rescue in motion. Acting on his request, SHO Mamta Raghuvanshi of Chhota Shimla police station located Ranbir Singh, brought him to safety and arranged for his medical examination at IGMC Shimla. For one night, the elderly man was given shelter at the police station to protect him from the freezing conditions.
But the rescue didn’t stop there. During conversations with Ranbir Singh, the police gathered clues about his identity. Reaching out through Haryana Police, they traced his son, Wazir Singh (35). For Wazir, the phone call was nothing short of a miracle.
“You saved my father’s life like God. Otherwise, he would not have survived this extreme cold. My mother and I had been sleepless for months after he went missing due to his mental health,” Wazir said tearfully upon reuniting with his father at the police station on Saturday evening.
Wazir explained that his father has been suffering from mental illness for decades. Unable to work or manage daily life, Ranbir often wandered away. Last year too, he had gone missing and was found after two months. The family, surviving on his mother’s earnings as a daily wage labourer, had almost lost hope.
The story of Ranbir Singh’s survival is not just about one rescue. Earlier, in December, social worker Vijay Lamba, associated with Umang Foundation, had also found Ranbir in Solan in poor condition. Despite alerting authorities, no action was taken under the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017, and no attempts were made to locate his family. Ranbir eventually left the shelter where he had been temporarily housed and drifted to Shimla.
This time, quick action by Shimla Police ensured a different ending.
“The timely help from SHO Mamta Raghuvanshi saved his life,” said Prof. Ajay Srivastava. “If people see mentally ill individuals living in helpless conditions, they should immediately inform the police so that proper care and protection can be provided.”
After their emotional reunion, SHO Mamta Raghuvanshi personally dropped the father and son at the bus stand. They reached home safely on Sunday morning, ending a long and painful chapter for the family.
