Wednesday, April 7, 2010

HAPPY END TO A SAD TALE

Assamese girl reunited with kin

Tribune News Service


Panchkula, May 22, 2007

The hapless girl found by the police in semi-nude condition on the Ramgarh-Barwala highway in October last year, came out of the shadows of anonymity today.

For the first time since she landed in the city eight months back, Renu managed a fragile smile from the hospital bed. Her family arrived all the way from Assam to get back the daughter they had presumed dead after months of futile search.

Reunited with his daughter due to the efforts of the Assamese Welfare Association, 65-year-old Lakshan, a small-time farmer in Barpeta of Assam, said: “She was studying in Class XII in the village school.That was more than a year back. One day, her friends returned from school while she was left behind. Ever since that day, we heard nothing about her. We searched up to Guwahati and finally gave up. We presumed she had died and mourned her death.”

It was about a week back that his elder son, a schoolteacher, received a call from the association, saying Renu was alive and recuperating in the General Hospital, Sector 6.

“I have six daughters and five sons. She was the youngest and the only one not married child. She used to take care of me after my wife passed away six years back. When news of her being alive came in, it sounded unreal. I had never heard of Haryana. I don’t know what she went through since the time she went missing, but I am happy to have her back and can’t wait to take her home.”

Accompanied by his 30-year-old son, the father and son tried to make conversation with Renu, but she only smiled back, saying little. “ I think she is under shock. She has become unstable. She says she was repeatedly exploited,” her brother said.

A member of the association, Bhabit Deka, explained: “An Assamese boy working in the Industrial Area spotted Renu at the hospital and told us about her. We came to meet her and found that she spoke Boro language and not Assamese. We identified a woman who understood the language and found out her home district and village. We got in touch with the Boro Association in Delhi and they, in turn, contacted the local Boro chapter in Assam. The exercise took a month before we zeroed in on the family.”

“It is satisfying to know that we have reached a happy end to a sad tale. We could not have asked for more,” the members said.

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