The 15-year-old worker in a Maheshtala jeans factory in Calcutta, who was tortured for allegedly stealing a cellphone and then went missing, returned home after 40 days to Chhagaria in Islampur, North Dinajpur, on Wednesday evening.

According to family members, an e-rickshaw driver spotted the teenager in the Tinpul area and brought him home.

The boy, visibly traumatised, was later admitted to the trauma centre at the Islampur hospital after showing signs of mental distress and panic.

His uncle, Lal Mohammad, said the boy escaped from a jeans-washing factory in Maheshtala, South 24-Parganas, where he had been working. After his escape, a man reportedly lured him with food and confined him in his home at Akra area of Maheshtala forcing him to do household chores.

“He told us the man who confined him is called Mano. He doesn’t know much else. The boy managed to flee from that house on Tuesday night and took a series of local trains to reach Kishanganj junction in Bihar. From there, he walked around 35km back to Islampur,” said the uncle.

His mother, Hasina Khatun, said amid tears: “I had given up hope. Even now, it feels unreal. He has not spoken much since returning. He is still in shock.”

She demanded stern action against those responsible for her son’s ordeal.

Islampur police visited the boy’s house soon after his return on Wednesday. A team from Maheshtala police station on Thursday questioned the boy at the hospital but declined to comment.

The boy was reportedly taken to the factory in Maheshtala, South 24-Parganas, in May by a man named Shahenshah. There, he worked in a jeans-washing factory under allegedly exploitative conditions. The situation took a horrific turn when the teenager was falsely accused of stealing a phone. He was allegedly hung upside down, whipped with belts, and subjected to electric shocks for three consecutive days. A video of the abuse surfaced, prompting widespread outrage.

Following the viral video, the boy’s family filed a complaint at the Patagora police outpost under Islampur police station. The case was also reported to the Maheshtala police. Protests and road blockades was organised in Islampur. Residents burned tyres and waved black flags, accusing police of inaction. Protests were held even outside Maheshtala police station, demanding the boy’s safe return.

Though Maheshtala police arrested three persons, including Shahenshah, in connection with the torture, they had failed to trace the missing boy.

The boy’s family and residents of the area are now demanding immediate arrest of the person who held him captive and want a thorough probe into the chain of events.