Post date: Aug 01, 2013 8:21:16 AM
A Hindu boy who ran away from his home in India's western Pune city 11 years ago, reunites with his family through social networking site Facebook and returns home as a Sikh.
PUNE, MAHARASHTRA, INDIA (JULY 31, 2013) (ANI) - A Hindu boy who ran away from his home in India's western Pune city 11 years ago, reunited with his family through social networking site Facebook and returned home as a Sikh.
Singh ran away from his home as Ankush, with 50 rupees ($ 0.82) in his pocket, in 2002 after he was beaten by his mother and uncle for smashing his motorcycle.He somehow reached a Sikh temple, where he started serving the devotees.
After looking at his dedication towards the work, a priest took him to a Sikh temple in Ludhiana city of northern Punjab state. There he was converted to a Sikh and was named Gurban Singh.
Singh said that he used to miss his home when he had arguments and fights with his co-workers.
He added that he wanted to look for his family but his uncle's landline phone number had changed and there were no mobile phones at that time.
Then he searched for his brother on Facebook a few days ago and on finding him, dropped him a message.
"I had an ID on Facebook. I searched for my brother's name by typing his name on Facebook and I found him by looking at his pictures. I was very sure that he is my brother. I sent him a friend request and my phone number in his inbox. He called me at midnight," said Singh on Wednesday (July 31) in Pune city of westernMaharashtra state.
The family was happy at their lost child's return and was not worried about conversion of his religion.
Singh's brother, Santosh Domle, contacted him as soon as he got Singh's message on Facebook and after some clarifications asked him to return home.
"My mother and my uncle tried looking for him at the relatives' house but in vain. I was a child then and it has been so many years that I had lost hope of having a brother. When he messaged me then we spoke over the phone. Then the priest bought him a ticket and we brought him home from the station," said Domle.
Singh's mother had searched for her child but had lost hope after finding no clue about his whereabouts.
She identified Singh through his birthmarks as soon as he returned home.
"I saw it in his eyes that he was my child. And I identified it through a mark on his face and other parts of his body. His gait also ensured that he was my lost child," said Hemlati Domle, Singh's mother.
Singh is happy to be united with his family but he is in a dilemma as he does not want to part with his spiritual leader who supported him during his hard times.