Mumbai: An 18-year-old mentally-challenged girl, who was found ailing on the streets of Wadala, was reunited with her family after five days of search.
Wadala police station received a call about a young woman lying by the side of the road at New BPT Colony on January 1. The police, upon finding that she was unable to stand, took her to KEM Hospital in Parel. She was later shifted to JJ Hospital in Byculla.
Police officers said that while the woman was under treatment, they made inquiries to find out if anyone corresponding to her description had gone missing over the past couple of days. However, they were unable to find a lead.
After two days, the police tried to make inquiries with the woman. However, they found that she was mentally-challenged and only spoke a few words at a time.
“The woman kept saying ‘satsang’ and ‘bhayander’ over and over. We called up Bhayander police station, and personnel there told us that a satsang programme was under way in their jurisdiction for the last few days,” senior police inspector Parshuram Karyakarte, Wadala police station, said.
The Wadala police then sent a team to the satsang venue. Some attendees told the police that a young woman had gone missing a few days ago. The police then obtained the contact number of the missing woman’s father, Dalsukh Patel, and contacted him.
“Mr. Patel told us that his daughter Falguni (18) went missing on January 1. He came to meet us on January 6 and recognised his daughter from the picture we showed him. He had documents to prove that the woman was indeed his daughter. We then took him to JJ Hospital where he confirmed that the woman we found was Ms. Falguni,” Mr. Karyakarte said.
The police are trying to find out how she made her way from Bhayander to Wadala. Doctors said that she has not fallen prey to any kind of abuse, and will be discharged soon.
