Geeta is our Guddi, says couple from Jharkhand

INDORE: Just days after the video made by external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj to locate the family of Geeta alias Guddi, a hearing and speech impaired Indian girl repatriated from Pakistan in October 2015, went viral on social media, a family from Jharkhand has claimed she is their long-lost daughter.

Indore-based sign language expert Gyanendra Purohit, during his attempt to check the claims, said there were several points which matched the description of Geeta's home in Pakistan according to her.

While speaking to Purohit, the family, in a two-hour video call, explained about their daughter 'Guddi' who had gone missing several years ago.

When attempts were made to bring Geeta home, Purohit had spoken to her in sign language over video call from Pakistan. Geeta had then passed a small note in which she wrote about her family. Since Geeta couldn't write properly at that time, she wrote some names in which she mentioned the name of her mother which could be read as Mala. She also wrote the village's name in the chit.

While explaining it to the sign language expert, Geeta had said that there was a huge tree near her house and a farm. She had also said that there was a 'Devi Ma' idol in the courtyard of her house.

While speaking with the family members, a positive response was received on all points. "The family members have now sent pictures of all of them and have asked us to show it to Geeta so that she can identify it," said Purohit.

Meanwhile, Dr Neha Arora, deputy commissioner, Garhwa (Jharkhand) in a mail to the external affairs minister wrote about the family.

"The claimant father Vijay Ram and mother Mala Devi are residents of Bandu village, under Ranka police station in Garhwa district in Jharkhand. They narrated the story that their daughter named Tunni Kumari (Gita) was married at a young age to Sudeshwar Ram (25) of Katharai village under Kochas police station in Rohtas district," she mentioned in the mail.

"She disappeared from her husband's house around eight month after her marriage and a complaint was also filed. They stated that the girl would write the name 'Guddi' since early on and has been hard of hearing and mute since birth," the mail further read.

Sub-divisional magistrate Ranka also visited the area and verified the information provided by the claimant which was found to be true.

Talking about the entire case, Indore district collector Nishant Warwade claimed the pictures will be shown to Geeta for verification.

"Though I have not been approached by anyone yet about the case, if it is so we will send the pictures to her and get it verified at the earliest," Warwade told TOI.

Geeta was just 11 years old when she was found sitting alone in Samjhauta Express by Pakistan Rangers at Lahore railway station. In Pakistan, she was looked after for 13 years by the Karachi-based Edhi foundation, started by late philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi and Bilquis Edhi.