Lost in the Kedarnath Flood — Found and Reunited After 11 Years: The Incredible Story of Shivam
In 2013, when the catastrophic floods struck Kedarnath, thousands of lives were lost — and one of the missing was six-year-old Shivam.
With no signs of him after days of searching, his family believed he was gone for good.
His brother even performed symbolic last rites. Little did they know: Shivam, who lived with polio, had survived.
He ended up in Sambhajinagar (formerly Aurangabad), Maharashtra — but with no memory of how he got there.
Years passed. In 2021, a temple in Sambhajinagar where Shivam was staying was burgled.
Though he was not involved, his name was dragged into the case. A judge ordered his rehabilitation at Regional Mental Hospital, Pune (RMH), diagnosing him with “disorganized schizophrenia.”
At the government-run hospital — housing over a thousand inmates — a small detail finally cracked the case open.
During conversations, Shivam mentioned his school: Prem Vidyalaya, Roorkee, in Roorkee.
That clue triggered an intense and successful search by RMH staff. Soon, police in Roorkee identified his family, and his brother made contact via video calls — an emotional reunion that left both in tears.
Meanwhile, authorities reviewed the temple burglary case and found no evidence against Shivam.
The court declared him innocent in 2024.
Last month, RMH received the discharge order. Finally, on Friday, after eleven long years, 55-year-old Shivam returned home and was reunited with his brother.
Dr. Shriniwas Kolod, Superintendent at RMH, called this the first-ever rehabilitation of a long-term unidentified patient-inmate at their facility.
The dedicated social-service team — including Rohini Bhosale, Dr. Shama Rathod, Dr. Varsha Bedagkar, Dr. Ingle, Dr. Amit Gosavi, and others — worked tirelessly to trace his roots and support his rehabilitation.
Dr. Kolod added that in the past few years alone, around 400 mentally-ill inmates at RMH have been successfully rehabilitated — many of them now working and earning at government centers.
Shivam’s journey — from being lost in one of India’s worst natural disasters, to becoming a nameless patient far from home, to finally rejoining his family — is a powerful testament to hope, perseverance, and compassionate care.
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