Runaway minor girl disguises as boy to work in Bhiwandi

BHIWANDI: Police who detained a boy for suspicious movement were shocked to find out ‘he’ was a girl who had run away from Hadapsar area in Pune and had been living in Bhiwandi for the past nine months.
The minor girl lived with her father, who is a plumber, her mother and an older brother. Police said since her family’s financial condition deteriorated, she left home last October and travelled ticketless on a train to Dadar. However, she did not find any job there so she came to Bhiwandi where she disguised herself as a boy and took on the name of Samir Shaikh.
Police said she landed a job as a helper at power loom units, but when the lockdown was again imposed during the second wave, she lost her job. She started living on the streets and started begging for a living. Senior inspector Shital Raut said, “Initially, the girl told us she was from Nagpur. But when we probed further, she revealed the truth.” Raut said she was not ready to go back home or speak to her parents. “But we counselled her and arranged a video call. Following an emotional appeal by her parents, she agreed to return,” added Raut. Her parents recently came to Bhiwandi and the family was reunited at the police station.
Police said she left home last October and travelled ticketless on a train to Dadar. She did not find a job there so she came to Bhiwandi where she disguised herself as a boy