Boy in fix with two sets of parents

New Delhi: A 12-year-old child is torn between two families who are claiming his custody in court. One of the families lost him seven years ago, and the other raised the boy after the Delhi Police handed him over to them.

But Farooq or Sonu, as the two families prefer to call the boy, faces an uncertain future. His foster father, Noor Mohammad, claims custody of Sonu on the pretext that he had been with his family for the past seven years.

Noor Mohammed says Farooq was an abandoned child, found by the Delhi Police in May 1999. After failing to find the child's parents, the police handed Farooq over to his family.

"Sub Inspector Raj Singh had handed him over to me. He kept checking on the boy for the next few months," says Noor Mohammad.

Said-ud-din of Burhana in Muzaffarnagar, however, has another story. In November last year, Saidudin came to Delhi, claiming that Farooq was actually Sonu, his son, who was kidnapped 6 years ago.

"He was kidnapped on January 6. On the 7th, we lodged an FIR. We got a ransom note 11 days later," claims Said-ud-Din.

While police has no records of the boy, newspaper reports suggest that Sai-du-din's son, Sonu, might have been killed after Saiduddin refused to pay up ransom money.

DSP Burhana Anup Kumar says, "We questioned the kidnappers, but they did not tell us anything about the boy. So, we had more or less accepted that the boy had been killed for ransom."

CNN-IBN spoke to the boy himself -

CNN-IBN: Sonu, these people claim to be your parents, do you know them?

Sonu: No. I don't.

CNN-IBN: But you told us they tortured you.

Sonu: Yes, they used to abuse me.

CNN-IBN to foster mother: He refuses to recognise you.

Mother: What can I say? Ask him, if he does not know us, then where did he stay for the secen years that he was not here? He is speaking under pressure.

When questioned on where would he want to stay, Sonu said, "I want to stay here." (Burhana)

With the boy refusing to recognise his foster parents, the Delhi Police has accepted Sai-du-din's claim over the boy. The Muzzafarnagar Police is also convinced that Sonu is Sai-du-din's son.

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