UP man returns home 31 years after being kidnapped: I was chained, worked as a slave at farm

A man in Uttar Pradesh who was kidnapped when he was nine, was recently reunited with his family after 31 years. Bhim Singh was reportedly chained to a tree during his years in captivity on a farm and was made to work as a slave, the Times of India reported. The matter came to light after a visitor at the farm took pity on him and rescued Singh.

Speaking to the publication, Singh said that he was beaten up at the farm almost daily. Once his captor--whom he knew only as Sairam--beat Singh until his jaw and his right hand broke. Without treatment and still tied up in chains, Singh did recover, but the bones healed in a way that he can no longer use his right hand and has a permanent deformity on the right side of his face.

"I tried to escape, but there was no road beyond a point," he told the Times of India. "It was only this Sikh man who came to purchase animals who spoke to me and asked me where I was from. When I told him, he took me to his truck and brought me back to Delhi," he said, adding that his rescuer had also helped him with a shave and a haircut.

Back home, Singh's mother Leelavati was in tears when she was reunited with him at the police station. "He may have these problems from years of captivity and torture but recognised me instantly. As soon as he saw me, he said, "Meri ma aa gayi (my mother has come). It took a while to sink in, but it was my son who was standing in front of me," she said.