A mentally challenged former policeman, who was missing since 2016, was found begging by his mother at Tahli Mohri intersection in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
Shaheen Akhtar recognized his son and they reunited after seven years amid emotional scenes.
Following the search, police arrested four members of the beggar gang, including three women, and launched an investigation to trace their accomplices, Dawn reported.
Missing man Mustaqeem Khalid was tortured and given injections during his captivity by a gang of beggars, according to his mother. Mustaqeem, a former policeman, had gone missing in 2016 due to the effects of typhoid fever.
His mother Shaheen Akhtar had earlier filed a missing report with the Civil Lines police, stating that her mentally challenged son often left home due to depression.
Despite villagers usually bringing him back, Mustaqeem did not return after leaving in 2016.
The reunion happened when Shaheen Akhtar, unaware of his son’s whereabouts, saw him begging with a gang at Tahli Mohri Chowk. The gang consisted of three women and two men, who were taking advantage of Mustaqeem’s disability and forcing him to beg.
Recognizing his son, Shaheen Akhtar hugged him, but the gang members accompanying him started beating and abusing him.
In the FIR lodged, it has been said that the gang kidnapped Mustaqeem Khalid and forced him to beg.