The Shah family spent most of the last two weeks praying their five-year-old boy’s is rescued alive. When Karnit called his father Anand Shah from Allahabad on Wednesday morning to say, “Daddy, I am coming home,” the family was convinced it was a miracle.

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The boy’s mother, Alpa Shah, burst into tears when she finally held him in her arms at Chhatrapati Shivaji domestic airport in Vile Parle later in the day. “When I saw him at the airport, I examined him from head to toe for bruises. I was relieved to see that my son was returned to me in perfect shape and he seemed happy,” Shah told DNA. The father immediately posted the news of his son’s return on social networking sites which had helped garner tremendous support for Karnit.

The hours between hearing Karnit’s voice and seeing him in person seemed like years to the family. “Though we had heard him and the police had reassured us it will bring him back in hours, we could not believe he was safe until we saw him,” said Hiten Mehta, his uncle.

When Karnit finally reached his locality late evening, he received a grand homecoming, with his friends bursting firecrackers and yelping with joy. ‘Welcome Home Karnit’ read the banner put up at the entrance of his building — Pranik Gardens in Mahavir Nagar, Kandivli. The society members and locals showered him with flowers and hugs. “It was nice to see the boy’s smiling face, and after cheering him, we left him alone with his family,” said Mahesh Patel, a family friend.

After hearing about Karnit’s miraculous return, a large crowd of friends and family, many of whom were fasting from the day of Karnit’s disappearance, gathered outside the family’s residence. Several pujas and bhajans were held in the temples of Mahavir nagar and hundreds of women broke their fasts after seeing him.

“For 13 days, I have not touched a morsel of food. I am living only on water. This evening, only after seeing him, did I break my fast. And it’s not just me, but women across the city have held mannats for him. It is due to our devotion that he has returned to us,” said Rekha Panchal, a neighbor. The family has now decided to visit Siddhivinayak temple in Prabhadevi and other holy places over the next few days.