IMPHAL/MUMBAI: A man who had vanished from Imphal 40 years ago was traced to Bandra last week, all thanks to a video of him singing an old Hindi film song that was uploaded on YouTube by a Bollywood fashion designer Khomdram Gambhir Singh (65) left his Imphal home in 1978, and his family had not heard of him since. That was until his video was brought to their notice on Friday. When TOI visited Singh’s ancestral home on Monday, his family said they were eagerly awaiting his return.Themthing Ngashangva, senior superintendent of police, Imphal West, said they have already contacted Bandra police. They have sent Singh to a shelter home in Virar.“Tomorrow we will send two personnel to Mumbai to bring him back,” said the Imphal police officer.Bandra police said Imphal cops sent them a photograph of a young Singh for identification. “We sent teams to Bandra police station to identify this man from his photo. It was a difficult job but our constables found him at Bandra railway station and immediately brought him here. We sent his photos to Imphal police and they, in turn, showed them to his family,” said Pandit Thakaray, senior inspector, Bandra police. DCP Paramjit Dahiya said, “We are delighted that Singh will reunite with his family after 40 years. It’s really a miracle.” Imphal West Students Club secretary Atom Samarendra and member Romen Leichombam said one Aheibam Dinamani from a neighbouring locality, who currently lives in Arunachal Pradesh, informed them about the video clip. “We approached Singh’s younger brother Kullachandra and showed him the video,” said Samarendra.“Later, we contacted Bandra police and requested them to find the man and take care of him. We also assisted the family in lodging a complaint with the local police station,” said Samarendra. Gambhir has two brothers and four sisters and they belong to a poor family, he added. According to Kullachandra, Gambhir married a woman from their neighbourhood in 1978 but they separated just three months later. Two months thereafter, he left home without informing anyone. Gambhir had also served in Manipur Rifles for seven years before switching to agricultural work, he said.“Though my elder brother seemed to be troubled, he never confided in us before leaving home one afternoon. On seeing the video, I could not stop crying. It was just like waking up in the middle of a dream. Now our happiness is limitless. We truly thank Firoze Sakir for uploading my brother’s video,” he said.The video was uploaded on October 17, 2017, by the fashion designer, who told TOI that Singh ekes out a living by doing odd jobs and he also sings. “He is a beautiful human being and a good man. I know he belongs to a cultured family in Manipur and he is a victim of destiny. It is through the prayers of people that my video could connect him with his family,” said Sakir.

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