It is only after Salman Khan’s heroic efforts in Bajrangi Bhaijaan that India’s Ministry of External Affairs seems to be inspired to bring back home a hearing and speech-impaired girl, who is in Pakistan for the last 12 years.
In 2003, Geeta, then nine-years old, was spotted by Pakistani rangers in Lahore, after she had strayed across the border.
The girl was later handed over to Pakistan’s largest non-governmental social welfare organisation Edhi Foundation. Bilqis Edhi, who runs the Edhi foundation, had named the girl as Geeta. According to reports, Geeta in her room at the Edhi Foundation has set up a small mandir (temple) where she prays.
Anara Devi and her husband Ramraj Gautam of Thammohan has said that the girl, addressed as Geeta in Pakistan, is their daughter Savita who went missing in 2004. Devi claimed she had left the then four-year-old daughter with her brother Narain Das in Chhapra district of Bihar in 2004. The family has said that they had also registered a missing report with the police station concerned.
Few days ago another family from Bokaro in Jharkhand claimed that Geeta is their fourth child- Kokia Kumari who went missing more than a decade ago after she went out to graze cattle.
The first couple to make a claim was Rajesh Kumar and Ram Dulari from Amritsar who said Geeta is their daughter Pooja, whom they used to call Guddi. The family which had migrated from Bihar to Punjab, said the girl went missing more than a decade ago while they were out begging at the Amritsar railway station.
Similar to the plot of Bajrangi Bhaijaan , External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is trying to be a real life Pawan Kumar Chaturvedi (Salman’s name in the movie).
Our High Commissioner believes that Geeta is an Indian.
— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) August 4, 2015
We will bring Geeta back to India.
— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) August 4, 2015
This requires some formalities which we will complete.
— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) August 4, 2015
We are grateful to all individuals and institutions in Pakistan who looked after Geeta.
— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) August 4, 2015
Gita in Karachi – During last few days four families from Punjab, Bihar, Jharkhand and UP have claimed Gita as their daughter.
— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) August 8, 2015
I am requesting the Chief Ministers of these states to verify and report.
— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) August 8, 2015
Gita conveyed to Indian High Commissioner by gestures that they are seven brothers and sisters.
— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) August 8, 2015
And some more revelation by Swaraj.
She also conveyed that she had visited a temple with her father. Then she wrote down “Vaishno Devi”.
— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) August 8, 2015
Indian High Commissioner TCA Raghavan meets Geeta at her residence in Karachi. | Source: Reuters
Sushma Swaraj retweeted Geeta’s drawing and scribbles that was tweeted by Yusra Askari, an NDTV journalist. Askari raises a pertinent point in one of her tweets.
In Geeta’s own writing, the names of her family members – Nahaish, Sho Chan, Vitendar, Nisha, Marga and Alouve pic.twitter.com/3BseCYi1Gc
— Yusra Askari (@YusraSAskari) August 8, 2015
Dear @SushmaSwaraj , Karachi’s the only home Geeta has known for over a decade, she needs the comfort of familiarity not fear of the unknown
— Yusra Askari (@YusraSAskari) August 8, 2015
Here is a video report by NDTV about Geeta.
Source: Youtube
Unlike Salman Khan, who surpasses all hurdles to reunite Munni with her family, Sushma is using Twitter and other official sources to trace the girl’s native place.
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