HAM operators help find Oz citizen lost on Kolkata streets – Times of India

Kolkata: A 69-year-old man of Indian origin, who was rescued from the streets of Kolkata a few weeks ago and admitted to the Sambhu Nath Pandit Hospital, has turned out to be an Australian citizen.
Thanks to amateur radio operators (HAMs), the Australian High Commission in India has been contacted and efforts are on to track down his records and family. The only document he possesses is the photocopy of a registration certificate, declaring him an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI). “A few days ago, health department officials, who know of our work in tracing down the families of lost people, got in touch and told us about the man. A plastic pouch was found in his possession but it was so dirty that doctors or nurses had not bothered to look inside. On our insistence, they did so and it came to light that the man is Ashoke Chakravorty from Sydney, Australia. He has been declared a consultant in the OCI certificate,” said Ambarish Nag Biswas, secretary, West Bengal Radio Club (WBRC).
The HAMs got in touch with the ministry of external affairs as well as the Australian High Commission. At the same time, they checked out the local address in Birati, which was mentioned in the OCI certificate. It turned out that Chakravorty used to live there but sold the property several years ago and moved to Siliguri where he stayed at a rented accommodation with a woman from a northeastern state.
It is also possible that Chakravorty worked at the branch of a nationalised bank in the Darjeeling district before moving to Australia.
“We received calls from the Australian Deputy High Commissioner’s office. The officials spoke to the patient who speaks fluent English and says that he is from Australia but doesn’t remember his address there. When asked whether he seeks assistance, he demanded that he be united with his relatives in Australia,” an official at the state-run hospital said. When contacted, a source at the Australian Deputy High Commissioner’s office in Kolkata said that efforts are on to find out more about Chakravorty. According to Nag Biswas, Chakravorty has spoken of a daughter in Sydney but he is unable to give further details about his stay in India or correct address. Though he seems to be suffering from some mental disorder, Chakravorty is not a lunatic, he added.