Missing Jharkhand woman found in Maharashtra reunited with kin after eight months

A 40-year-old mentally unstable woman from Jharkhand, who left home and was found wandering in Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra nearly a year back, was reunited with her family after eight months with the efforts taken by a voluntary organisation.

A 40-year-old mentally unstable woman from Jharkhand, who left home and was found wandering in Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra nearly a year back, was reunited with her family after eight months with the efforts taken by a voluntary organisation. Lalita alias Mandevi Birendra Mehta was found wandering alone in Shivapur area of Kudal taluka in Sindhudurg in August last year. She was admitted to the locally-run Sanvita Ashram for care, an office-bearer of the non-government organisation said. ''With proper treatment and support at the ashram, her condition gradually improved, and she was eventually able to share some information about her village and family,'' said Kisan Choure, trustee of Jeevan Aanand Sanstha in Kudal, which runs the ashram. She shared some fragments of her background, he said. ''Based on the information she provided, I traced her native village Nawadih in Domchanch taluka of Koderma district of Jharkhand using Google. With the help of local police there, we established contact with her husband Birendra Mehta,'' he said. The family was unable to travel to take her back due to their poor financial condition. However, we ensured regular communication was maintained between the woman and her family through video calls to keep the bond alive, Choure added. She was finally reunited with her family on April 27 after a voluntary organisation facilitated her journey home to Jharkhand, he said.