A 17-year-old girl, who had run away from home after scoring low marks in her SSC exam, was reunited with her parents on Wednesday, thanks to the presence of mind of a clerk working with the Palghar police.
The clerk, Renuka Gaikwad, is employed with the office of the Superintendent of Police, Palghar. She was on her way to work when she spotted the girl around 10 a.m. on Wednesday outside Palghar railway station.
“Seeing the girl alone and crying, Ms. Gaikwad asked her what was wrong. The girl could only tell Ms. Gaikwad at that point that she was from Mumbra. As the girl was very disturbed, Ms. Gaikwad brought her to the SP office,” an officer with the Palghar police said.
Ms. Gaikwad then contacted assistant sub inspector Surendra Shivde with the Palghar police control room. The matter was then communicated to the women’s cell of the Palghar police, and police sub inspector Rupali Gund took the girl in her custody.
After patient inquiries, the girl finally revealed that her name was Nashara Muniyar (17), and that she had run away from her Mumbra residence as she had scored low marks in her SSC exam. Officers said Ms. Muniyar took the first train she saw at Mumbra railway station and kept changing trains till she reached Palghar where she finally became so depressed that she could not keep going.
“Based on the information provided by Ms. Muniyar, the women’s cell contacted her parents and they reached the SP office. Ms. Muniyar and her parents were counselled for an hour, during which they were sensitised to the pressure faced by school students and how to deal with children disturbed over a low percentage. Her parents thanked everyone before taking their daughter home,” the officer said.
Girl reunited in Kurla
In another incident, a three-year-old girl was reunited with her mother by the Nehru Nagar police on Thursday. The girl was found crying near Kurla railway station around 7.30 p.m. and was brought to the police station by some passers-by.
“Our female personnel quizzed the girl and she said her name was Afeeyana, and that she had lost her way while playing. We then took her around our jurisdiction in a police van, making inquiries with street vendors and hawkers, till we found her mother, Shabnam Idris, in Rajiv Gandhi Nagar. Ms. Idris had herself been looking for Afeeyana,” police sub inspector Ganesh Patil, Nehru Nagar police station, said.
(With inputs from Kanika Lamba)