Almost four weeks after Geeta, the speech and hearing impaired woman, returned to India from Pakistan, the Ministry of External Affairs has said that her DNA sample did not match that of the family claiming her as their daughter.
“A family from Bihar, the Mahatos, had claimed Geeta as their daughter. But the DNA test turned out to be negative. She will continue to live in Indore where an institution for speech and hearing impaired children are looked after,” said Vikas Swarup, spokesperson for the Ministry, on Thursday. Geeta, who came to India on October 26, had denied any familiarity with the Mahatos or any emotional connect with the family on meeting them in Delhi in the presence of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. The DNA tests were still conducted to clear all doubts.
Following Thursday’s announcement, Pakistan’s Edhi Foundation told The Hindu that it had anticipated that Geeta would end up without a biological family as she herself was not sure of those claiming to be her relatives. “We knew that Geeta was interested in visiting India. But we felt that she was doubtful about finding her real biological family,” said Anwar Kazmi, spokesperson for the Edhi Foundation.
“We have hundreds of children who grow into adulthood at Edhi Foundation. Geeta was raised here since she was a little child. She had full freedom to grow up in Karachi. She used to visit temples also whenever she wanted. Now, we get to speak to her only on Skype. We feel this tragedy could have been avoided,” Mr.Kazmi said.
Following her return, Geeta has been living in Indore in the care of an institution which looks after people with special needs. “There are other families too who have claimed her to be their daughter. We will do DNA tests for them also,” the MEA spokesperson said.
Sushma may visit Indore
Ms.Swaraj is expected to travel to Indore where she will meet Geeta and make further arrangements for her continued stay in the city.
