When a policeman in Solapur fed a homeless old man, he did not know it would change the man's life. A fellow policeman saw the video and recognised the man as his neighbour who had gone missing. The 90-year-old had gone missing four months ago from Byculla and the family couldn't trace him. Bhikaji Pansare was last seen in February. However, now with the alert cop's effort, the man is back with his family. It was Ashok Bhujbal, the head constable at Shivaji Park police station in Mumbai who noticed the video after it was widely shared on social media.

Talking about the incident, Mid-day told Manali Patole, Bhikaji's daughter, "We searched everywhere for my father — railway stations, hospitals and temples — but found not a single clue. We registered a missing complaint at Byculla police station and distributed pamphlets at various places, but nothing worked. In desperation, we even went to the Sai Baba temple at Shirdi to pray for his return."

After Ashok confirmed that the man in the video was his neighbour he forwarded it to a group of police in Solapur. One of the cops then identified Nasruddin from the video. The report quoted Nasruddin as saying, "When I got the call from Mumbai, I was just about to start the night shift. I immediately called the beat marshal and asked them to check on the senior citizen. They rescued him and sent word to the family in Mumbai."

Bhikaji's daughter left for Solapur and would have reached Solapur today. The police are not sure how the man reached Solapur. They suspect he would have got confused and boarded the wrong train. The family is finally relieved to have him back.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 13, 2018 01:37 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).