"Take Me Home, I'm Scared": Toddler's Emotional Reunion With Foster Parents

In an emotional conclusion to a custody dispute that sparked widespread public concern, three-year-old Rudra Mahesh was reunited with the couple who raised him for nearly three years on Monday evening, following Telangana High Court intervention and the intervention of the Jagtial district administration.

The little boy's heartbreaking plea, "Amma, take me home... I am scared!", had moved thousands after a video of him crying at a child-care centre in Karimnagar went viral on social media.

The episode began after officials separated the child from Kasarapu Srinivas and Saritha, a childless couple who said they had taken him in when he was just five days old and raised him as their own for nearly three years. They defended that the adoption was performed according to Hindu customs.

However, officials questioned the legal validity of the adoption and shifted the child to a government childcare institution in Karimnagar.

The video shows the child reportedly desperately pleading with Saritha to take him home. The couple were also seen struggling to contain their emotions.

Seeking the child's custody, the couple approached the Telangana High Court and according to them, an interim order was passed dated October 16, 2026, in W.P. No. 31588/2026, in which the court directed that the child's interim custody be restored to them.

Despite submitting the court order to the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) on October 28, the couple alleged that the handover was delayed.

They also said they approached the High Court again over the delay and submitted a representation during the Prajavani grievance programme at the Jagtial Collectorate on Monday, November 2.

Responding to the incident and growing public sentiment, Jagtial District Collector B Satya Prasad said the child would be handed over in accordance with the High Court's directions. He said that the delay was due to CWC approval and administrative formalities and assured that the process would be completed by Monday night or Tuesday morning.

The assurance was followed by the child's reunion with the couple on Monday evening, November 2.

For Srinivas and Saritha, the reunion brought relief after weeks of anxiety and separation. For little Rudra Mahesh, it marked a return to the familiar embrace he had been pleading for.