Indore:
It was a hopeful Christmas for 29-year-old Geeta as a man from Telangana came to claim her as his daughter, but her search will continue as she failed to recognise him.
The search for Geeta's parents, who returned to India from Pakistan in 2015, continues. By now many families have claimed Geeta as their lost daughter, but Geeta's parents could not be found.
A social organisation run by Monica and Gyanendra Purohit from Indore took Geeta to Maharashtra and Telangana for over a week to help find her parents recently. The trip was planned citing her description of her village and its similarities with various places and general weather of Telangana.
From the trip, three families from Telangana have claimed that Geeta is their daughter. One of the parents claiming to be her father, Bolli Swami, had come to meet her on Friday at DIG office.
Swami is a resident of Telangana and lives in Thirupalli Peddapalli. His wife, i.e. claimed to be mother of Geeta, had passed away. Swami also brought his nephew for the meeting.
Geeta met Swami, but failed to recognise him or remember any memories that Swami talked about.
Thirupalli Peddapalli, the village from which Swami hails, does not have a railway station. However, Geeta has shared that her house was on the main road opposite a railway station.
A DNA test would still be conducted to check if Swami is truly Geeta’s long-lost father.
So far, 24 couples have claimed Geeta
Geeta was brought to India from Pakistan in 2015 with the help of former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. After this Geeta was kept in Indore, since then she has been living here.
After being brought to Indore, many couples across the country claimed to be Geeta's parents, but the search for Geeta's family still continues as there were no successful DNA match parents.
So far 24 families have claimed Geeta as their daughter.
Geeta to visit Telangana from Dec 27
As shared by Purohits, Geeta will resume her search for parents in Telangana from December 27. “From her description of the village she is from, she often talks about river, coconut and groundnut farming, which is common in Telangana,” Monica said.
She added that Geeta has a right nose piercing, which is a trend in southern India. “In North India, people generally get their left nose pierced,” Monica said.
Further, citing other descriptions that make it more probable that Geeta is from Telangana and southern states, Purohit said, “Geeta often talks about Idli’s street stalls and enjoying south Indian breakfast as a child, which is not a trend in most families in villages in central and northern India.”
Geeta will now be travelling to three places in Telangana on her trip.\\
What’s the future plan?
Following her trip to Telangana, Purohits have decided to send her for a literacy camp in Telangana. “If she keeps travelling back and forth, so do the claimants, it’s not futile considering she is already 29 years old now,” Monica said.
She added that there is a possibility that Geeta’s parents are not affluent. “In either case, it’s important for her to be independent and hence, we are trying to ensure her literacy, training and capability to able to earn her bread,” Purohit said.
At the literacy camp organised by Pahal organisation, Geeta will undergo literacy and job oriented training while staying in Telangana. “The organisation is run by hearing impaired for hearing impaired, so it is a place we are hoping she will be comfortable and learn,” Purohit said.
