The 13-year-old boy went missing from Uttar Pradesh in 2015 and was traced to a children's home in Assam.
A boy from Uttar Pradesh, who went missing five years ago, was traced to a child welfare home in Assam and reunited with his family, thanks to Telangana Police's facial recognition tool, DARPAN.
The child, who went missing in 2015, is now 13 years old and has been identified as Som Soni.
An emotional video that shows the boy's mother and father crying and hugging has won hearts on the internet. The 2.20-minute clip ends with a visibly calm boy identifying his mother.
According to Telangana Additional DGP (Women's Safety) Swati Lakra, Som had gone missing on July 14, 2015, and was found a week later in Assam's Goalpara. He was taken to a child welfare home in the district, where he remained until recently when he was reunited with his parents, she said.
DARPAN maintains a database of children and persons lodged at various rescue homes across the country.
"We started using the DARPAN App in 2018 and have been able to unite almost 33 children with their families across India since then. The Crime and Criminal Tracking Network System matched photos of missing children in the FIRs with those on the tracking portal of children's homes. The software is able to match images with accuracy even after many years using the face matrix," DGP Lakra said.
As soon as the Telangana Police found a match for Som's photo, they contacted the local police in Handia, who in turn informed the boy's parents, the officer said, adding that his parents rushed to Assam and identified their son.