A man from Uttar Pradesh who was abducted at the age of nine has been reunited with his family after 31 years. Bhim Singh was reportedly kept chained to a tree on the farm and forced to work as a slave. The situation was discovered when a visitor to the farm took pity on him and helped save Singh, the Times of India reported.
Singh told the publication that he was beaten daily at the farm. One day his captor Sairam beat him so badly that his jaw and right arm were broken. Singh was not treated, he was still shackled, and although he eventually recovered, his right arm was rendered useless and his face permanently disfigured.
“I tried to escape, but there was no further road,” Singh told the Times of India. “Only this Sikh man who came to buy animals spoke to me and asked where I was from. When I told him, he took me in his truck and brought me to Delhi,” he added, mentioning that his rescuer also helped him shave and cut his hair.
Back home, Singh’s mother Lilavati was in tears when they met at the police station. “He may have these issues from years of captivity and torture, but he recognized me immediately. As soon as he saw me, he said, “Meri ma aa gayi (my mother has come).” It took a while to sink in, but there was my son in front of me,” she said.
Singh, on the other hand, said, “It didn’t even take me a second to recognize her. My mother’s face hasn’t changed, she just looks old now.”
