Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Jeet Bahadur's family in Kathmandu.
In a special humanitarian gesture, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today witnessed a Nepalese youth reuniting with his family after having nurtured him for 16 years.
26-year-old Jeet Bahadur, who is currently pursuing a Bachelors in Business Administration (BBA) course in Ahmedabad, had come to India in 1998 along with his brother looking for work like many other migrants from Nepal.
Mr Bahadur came in contact with Mr Modi in Ahmedabad over a decade back and has since been looked after by him. On Sunday, he travelled with Mr Modi to Kathmandu to be personally handed over to his mother and elder brother.
At the hotel where the Indian delegation is staying, Mr Modi met Bahadur's family members who have moved here from their native place Kawasoti in Nawalparasi district in western Nepal where they live in a slum area.
His family members include his mother Khagisara, elder brother Dasharath, his wife and younger sister Prem Kumari.
"Bringing a family together! @PMOIndia 1st engagement in Nepal was to bring together Jeet Bahadur's family," Spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs Syed Akbaruddin tweeted along with a photograph of the Mr Modi with Bahadur's family.
After coming to India with his elder brother, Bahadur worked in Rajasthan for a brief period. However, after sometime, he decided to return to Nepal as he was unhappy with his job.
While leaving Rajasthan, he mistakenly boarded an Ahmedabad-bound train instead of one going to Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, which borders Nepal.
On arriving in Ahmedabad, a woman took him to the house of Mr Modi who had till then not become the Chief Minister. Since then, Bahadur has been in Mr Modi's care.
However, after Mr Modi became the Prime Minister and moved to Delhi, Bahadur shifted to a university hostel.
Indian Embassy officials in Kathmandu earlier visited Bahadur's family in Kawasoti and informed them about Mr Modi's visit and his desire to meet them.
On the eve of his two-day trip yesterday, Mr Modi had tweeted, "On a personal note, my Nepal visit is very special...Some personal emotions are also attached to this visit."