Nellore: Search Ops, Drone Surveillance For 3-Year Old Sanju Continues for the 10th Day

NELLORE: It has been 10 days after three-and-half-year-old Sanju went missing from his home on June 29, leaving the boy’s family shattered after his disappearance.  Sanju had apparently gone after his father into a nearby forest and never returned. The incident took place in the interior Uyyalapalli village of Kaluvaya mandal in Andhra Pradesh’s Nellore district.

Dandu Bujjayya and Lakshmamma of Uyyalapalli Dalitwada in Kaluvaya Mandal have three sons, where Sanju was the second child. Bujjayya grazed sheep for his livelihood and his wife Lakshmamma worked as a daily wage labourer. Sanju  as a habit used to follow his father Bujjayya who went to graze sheep, where he would go for a certain distance, but always returned home. But at around 9 am on the 29th of last month, the locals noticed that after the father left, the child was seen heading towards the forest. After which Sanju was not seen or located since then.

Police were deployed to search for the missing boy. Atmakuru DSP Venkateswara Rao, Podalakuru Circle Inspector Gangadhar, Kaluvaya SI Anjaneyulu, and other police officials have been combing the forest on a daily basis.

The forest area has already been thoroughly surveyed using drone cameras. Police teams carried out searches in the vicinity of Uyyalapalli tribal areas, as well as in a nearby forest area. Two days ago, the police brought in the dog squad to search for the boy.  However, the trail stopped about two kilometers in the forest. Pamphlets and wall posters were also sent to all police stations in the state and posted in the main centres of the districts for any clue about the missing boy. The police said that a total of around 150 people including 50 police personnel, a dog squad, a drone operating system, besides local villagers are involved in the search ops to trace the boy.

Police are also exploring the kidnap angle and suspect that Sanju may have been abducted by strangers. They are also verifying the possibility that some strangers who roam the streets in search of hair to make wigs may have abducted and sold the child.

An investigation is underway based on a cell tower dump in the area to see if any strangers had come to the area or near the forest at the time of the child's disappearance. “ We are making all efforts to trace the whereabouts of the child. Special teams were formed and are combing the forest area. Drone cameras and a police dog squad were called and search is on and we hope to find the baby soon,” said  Venkateswara Rao, the Atmakuru DSP.

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