Heartbreaking pic of 3 'abandoned' children at railway station sparks Twitter rescue appeal

Three children allegedly abandoned by their dad at a railway station were rescued after a passer-by tweeted a photo of them huddled in a corner with a message asking if someone could help.

Local journalist Abhishek Shukla, 33, had been seeing his parents off at the main station in the Indian capital New Delhi when he spotted the children cuddling each other for warmth as they slept on a platform. Concerned about their well-being but not having time to speak to them, he took a photo and posted it on Twitter with the message: "Can someone help these helpless kids at New Delhi Railway Station near platform 16 entrance."

The tweet quickly went viral and was soon picked up by local police chief Madhur Verma who mobilised his men to go and get them.

He said: "When officers arrived they found the children had gone. Worried they may have been kidnapped they began searching the station and stopping passengers. Eventually, after an hour, they were found them hiding on another platform. They were cold, hungry and scared but we soon found out what had happened."

According to the children, Rahnuma, 7, Raja, 5, and Sanya, 4, their divorced dad who lives in another state had taken them out for the day but then left them at the station saying their mum would come and get them.

Verma said: "When we arrived at the mother’s house she was asleep and said she had been working and had not been contacted by her ex husband. As far as she was aware the children were staying with him. "We are now looking to question the man."

The mother said she had not been contacted by her ex-husband

Later he tweeted: "Today morning (sic) safely handed over to mother Ms Tabassum. They are happy!" And he was immediately swamped with good will messages from ecstatic locals.

Credit: New Delhi Sun/Mirror