New Delhi: Nearly a month long search for Gurucharan Singh, who played Sodhi in “Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah”, came to an end on Friday morning when the 50-year-old television actor appeared before his family at their residence in southwest Delhi's Palam.

Singh had gone missing on April 22 and a kidnapping case was registered based on his father’s complaint, a senior police officer said. According to the police, Singh disclosed that he had embarked on a journey to various spiritual destinations across different states.

“He travelled to different states and visited religious places. He was seeking peace in his life. He also claimed to have slept near the roadside,” the officer added.

The missing complaint was filed by Singh’s father at Palam police station on April 25. He reported that the actor had left his residence on April 22 at 8.30 am. “Singh has not reached Mumbai, and both his mobile phones are switched off. He has not returned home either,” the complainant said.

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Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah actor Gurucharan Singh is back home after almost a month. He has been missing since April 22 and the Delhi police have been searching for him ever since. Expectedly, his parents are extremely happy to see his son back home.

Speaking to Bombay Times, Gurucharan’s father Hargit Singh said, “My wife and I both very happy to see him back home. We were very worried for him and now one can see how relaxed and happy we are. On Thursday night he rang our door bell. I told my wife that this is how our son rings the bell and I have a feeling it is him. When I opened the door I saw him standing there and I can't explain what I felt. How happy I was to see him safe and sound.”

He added, "We wanted him to just relax, so we told him to go and sleep. The next morning we spoke."

According to police, Gurcharan told the officials that he had left this worldly life and was on a religious journey. In the past few days, he stopped at Gurudwaras in many cities like Amritsar and Ludhiana, but later realised that he should return home.

Gurcharan's father said his son had come back home to check on them. "He didn't realize there was a massive search for him. We informed the police that he is back home. We went to the police station on Friday to give the details that the police required. Gurcharan ke wapas aane se hum bohot hi jyada khush hain. We spoke about what happened and now we have put it behind us. All we wanted was for him to be safe and come home.... God is with us."

We tried reaching out to Gurucharan as well but he was unavailable to speak at the moment.

Gurcharan was popular as Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah's Roshan Singh Sodhi. He quit the show in 2013 and joined back a year later. Finally he quit the show again in 2020.

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Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah actor Gurucharan Singh who was missing since April 22, has returned home. The Delhi Police had filed a case of kidnapping and a probe was underway to find the actor.

According to police, Gurcharan told the officials that he had left this worldly life and was on a religious journey. In the past few days, he stopped at Gurudwaras in many cities like Amritsar and Ludhiana, but later realised that he should return home.

His co-actor from Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah Jennifer Mistry is happy that he is home.

She said, “I woke up this morning and read about him returning home. I am really happy for him. I did have a feeling that he could have gone somewhere on a spiritual journey because because he is very spiritually inclined. It’s just that he should have informed his parents so that they were not troubled. But I am happy that he has come back home.”

Gurucharan’s friend from Mumbai Bhakti Soni who was supposed to pick him up at the Mumbai airport was also in touch with his family and the police. When she learnt about his return, she said, “I got a call from the police on Friday afternoon that Gurucharan is found and is back home. I haven’t spoken to him yet.. only he will be able to tell us what happened. But I am happy that he is home safe and sound. All our prayers have been answered.”

Reportedly, Gurucharan Singh was a frequent user of credit cards and had many bank accounts for his financial activities. Police found that he operated more than 10 bank accounts. He used his credit cards to settle the balance on one card with another.

Gurucharan became a household name as Roshan Singh Sodhi in Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah. He quit the show in 2013 but returned the next year. He finally exited the show in 2020.

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Rohit Meena, DCP South West, Delhi Police, told us, “After leaving Delhi (on April 22), Gurucharan kept roaming in cities like Amritsar and Jalandhar, and visited various gurdwaras in these cities. He would eat at langars and even slept on the roadside or inside gurdwaras. He said he wanted to go on this spiritual journey. Two days back it was his birthday, and that was when he realized that he should return home. We sent our teams to Mumbai, Amritsar, and Hemkund Sahib. We also got in touch with his spiritual guru to ask about his whereabouts, and that’s how we came to the conclusion that he had planned his own disappearance.”

— Niharika Lal

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Actor Gurucharan Singh, of Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah fame, had been missing since April 22. He finally returned home on Friday. 

Singh, who had been visiting his parents in Delhi earlier this year, was expected to be back in Mumbai. When he didn’t, his family filed a missing persons complaint on April 22. Upon his return, when he was questioned by Delhi Police, Singh stated he had “embarked on a religious journey”.

During interrogation, the actor informed the police that he had stopped at gurdwaras in various cities, including Amritsar and Ludhiana (Punjab). Later, he realized that he must return home. The investigation also revealed that he was a follower of a sect that practices meditation and had an interest in Himalayan meditation retreats. 

Reportedly, Gurucharan Singh maintained multiple bank accounts and frequently used credit cards despite not being in good financial condition. However, his father, Hargit Singh, was unaware of his financial woes and was worried about his son.