Bhiwandi: Runaway Pune girl living as a boy on footpath reunited with mother

THANE: The Bhiwandi police on Sunday reunited a girl, who had run away from her home in Pune and was living as a boy on a footpath in the city, with her mother.
The girl had first come to Mumbai a few days ago and then reached Bhiwandi's Shanti Nagar area in an auto from Dadar.
Police said that the girl had chopped her hair and would dress as a boy to protect herself and hide her identity.
"The beat marshal on duty first noticed the boy sleeping on a footpath and inquired regarding his whereabouts. However, he did not provide any information. Later, the marshal informed the on-duty cop and he was asked to bring the boy to the police. In the police station, we got to know that she was actually a girl and not a boy," said a cop from Bhiwandi police in Maharashtra's Thane district.

Shital Raut, PI of the Shanti Nagar police station, said that after persuading a lot, the girl told them that she is from Hadapsar and accordingly, they contacted the local police station to get more details.
However, she did not disclose why she had left her home.
"The girl was living like a boy to protect herself. She would also speak like a boy so that no one could recognise her and would tell her name as Sameer Shaikh," said police.
The Hadapsar police had already filed a missing complaint, and thus, they got in touch with the family members of the girl.
Police informed that initially, the girl was not ready to speak to anyone over a phone call. However, when she was connected via WhatsApp video call and the identity was established, she spoke to her mother.
On the next day, the girl was handed over to her mother who had come along with her aunt to receive her.
- With inputs from Prashant Narvekar