A 12-year-old boy, who went missing from his residence in Hyderabad in 2014, was traced by a special team of the women safety wing of Telangana police in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. According to Shikha Goyal, director general of the women safety wing, the boy, who was missing since August 18, 2014, was found in Kanpur after 10 years. He has been reunited with his family in Hyderabad.

Investigation revealed that the boy had left home with only his Aadhaar card. Despite initial efforts by the local police, he could not be traced. Later, the case was handed over to the anti-human trafficking unit. Goyal said the technical team of the women's safety wing used open-source tools to collect all digital identities associated with the missing boy.

Investigation revealed that the boy's digital identity had been changed using his Aadhaar card, which was updated with a new mobile number. Following this clue, the team traced the mobile number to a retired government employee from Uttar Pradesh. Interrogation revealed that the boy had travelled to Uttar Pradesh by train at the age of 12.

He was detained by the railway police at Kanpur railway station and kept in a child protection centre. There he stayed till 2022. The boy was later adopted and his name was changed. Acting on this information, the Special Investigation Team travelled to Kanpur and traced him, police said.