Pakistani boy Ghulam Hussain, 14, is stuck in a juvenile home in Gujarat
On Eid festival in July, 14-year-old Ghulam Hussain watched with a heavy heart as his father left him to go home, to Pakistan, after a year. The boy, caught for a crime he never committed, couldn't join him because of a technical error in his papers.
Weeks have passed and another festival in August, Raksha Bandhan, found him in a juvenile home, celebrating with other children, but longing for home and his own family in Karachi.
He is the real life version of "Munni", the little Pakistani girl in the super-hit film "Bajrangi Bhaijaan", who was escorted back home by her eponymous savior.
The teenager still waits for his Bajrangi Bhaijaan, say officials sympathetic to his state.
He was caught along with his father, Jumman Jeba, and several Pakistani fishermen by the Coast Guard when they strayed into Indian waters last year.
Some 30 fishermen were kept in a jail in Gujarat's Jamnagar, and six teenagers, including Ghulam, were shifted to a juvenile home a few km away.
In July this year, the group was overjoyed at hearing that 82 Pakistani fishermen would be released as a goodwill measure, and allowed to go home.
For Ghulam and his father, that joy was short-lived.
When the names were sent to the home ministry for verification, all were cleared for release except Ghulam.
''There must have been some technical error, maybe some error in identification. His name wasn't in the list, so we couldn't let him off," said AK Patel, a senior police officer handling the case.
Ghulam was left behind as his father was handed over to Pakistani officials at the Wagha border last month.
The Gujarat police sent Ghulam's name for clearance again, about 10 days ago.
The teen spends his days waiting for news that he can return to his family in Karachi. "He's very anxious. He keeps asking when he can go home. But he's started mingling with other children," an officer said.