94-year-old Maharashtra woman reunites with family after four decades

In a shocking incident, a 94-yr-old woman from Maharashtra was reunited with her family after disappearing four decades ago. Panchubai, the woman, reached her grandson’s home after almost forty years, but unfortunately could not see her son as he had died three years ago. 

The woman was first spotted by a truck driver, sometime in 1979-80. She was seen walking along a road in Madhya Pradesh’s Damoh district, clueless and in a pitiable condition. 

Israr Khan, the truck driver’s son told PTI, “She had been stung by honeybees and could speak coherently”.

Pitying her plight, Israr Khan’s father took the woman to their house and made her their family member. Israr himself was a baby then.

Khan revealed that they called her Achchhan Mausi. She was psychologically unstable and would often mutter something in Marathi, which the family could not comprehend. Over the years, Khan's family tried to talk to her about her family but met with little success. Khan also tried to use social media to circulate her posts about her, but could not find a breakthrough. 

On some instances, Panchubai would talk about a place called "Khanjma Nagar" but Khan was unable to find it on Google maps. 

During the lockdown, as work halted around the country, Khan was able to find more time to talk to his achchhan mausi. 

To his surprise, on 4th May, when asked about her hometown, Panchubai mentioned a place called "Paraspur." Google quickly located the place somewhere in Maharashtra, bringing hope to the family. 

On 7th May, Khan was able to contact a shop-owner in Paraspur, Abhishek. He informed khan about a nearby place called Khanjma Nagar.

The same day, Israr also sent the old lady's video to Abhishek over WhatsApp. Belonging to the Kirar community, the shop-owner promptly shared the video on his community group. Over a late-night call, Abhishek confirmed to Khan that the lady had been identified by her relatives. 

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On receiving the video, Prithvi Bhaiyalal Shingane, Pachubais grandson who lives in Nagpur was astonished. Eager to bring her back home, the family looked forward to lockdown relaxations. Finally, on June 17th, Shingane was about to take his grandmother back to the home.

Khanjma Nagar in Achalpur Tehsil, located at Amravati district of Maharashtra is the native place of Shingane family. The family had shifted to Nagpur almost five decades ago.

In an attempt to trace back the story, it was revealed that Shingane’s father brought Panchubai to Nagpur for mental ailment treatment from Khanjma Nagar. But one evening, while leaving home, he informed the neighbours that Panchibai was going to visit her father’s place but she never came back again.

Prithvi Shingane was quoted saying, “At the age of 94, my grandmother is still in good health, thanks to Khan family who looked after her for such a long time.”