Close X
Saturday, September 28, 2024
ADVT 
India

India Working To Bring Back Gita, Locate Family: Sushma Swaraj

IANS, 08 Aug, 2015 01:36 PM
    Gita, a 23-year-old hearing and speech-impaired Indian woman stranded in Pakistan for the past 15 years, will be brought back to India and efforts are on to locate her family, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Saturday.
     
    In a series of tweets, Sushma Swaraj said the government was completing the "necessary formalities to bring Gita back to India".
     
    Sushma Swaraj tweeted that during the past few days, "four families from Punjab, Bihar, Jharkhand and UP have claimed Gita as their daughter" and that she has requested the chief ministers of the respective states to "verify and report".
     
    "Gita conveyed to the Indian High Commissioner by gestures that they are seven brothers and sisters. She also conveyed that she had visited a temple with her father. Then she wrote down 'Vaishno Devi'."
     
    "With these details, please help locate Gita's family," the minister tweeted.
     
    Gita's story has the elements of recent Bollywood blockbuster 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan' in which actor Salman Khan crosses the border to escort a six-year-old mute Pakistani girl back to her village.
     
    Since her story hit the limelight earlier this week, four families have come forward to claim that Gita was their long-lost daughter.
     
    A family from Uttar Pradesh and one from Jharkhand came forward on Friday.
     
    Ramraj and Anara Devi, who hail from Dhamohan village in Uttar Pradesh's Pratapgarh district, claimed Gita was their daughter Savita who went missing from an ashram in Bihar 11 years ago, according to media reports.
     
    The couple approached the authorities after seeing TV news reports and pictures of Gita, who they say is one of their six children who went missing at the age of nine.
     
    A couple from Bokaro in Jharkhand claimed Gita was their fourth child Kokia Kumari who went missing more than a decade ago.
     
    Earlier, another couple from Amritsar claimed Gita was their daughter Pooja, who they used to call Guddi.
     

    MORE India ARTICLES

    President lists how Modi's 'acche din' are here to come

    President lists how Modi's 'acche din' are here to come
    If "acche din aane wale hain" or good days are to come was Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vote-pulling election slogan, President Pranab Mukherjee Monday outlined "how" in his 55-minute address to a joint session of parliament, listing the new government's priorities in areas ranging from domestic issues to foreign policy.

    President lists how Modi's 'acche din' are here to come

    More Indians fancying foreign vacations this summer

    More Indians fancying foreign vacations this summer
    A strengthening rupee, the impact and influence of social media and, most importantly, the yearning of Indian travellers to explore the world, especially during the ongoing summer vacation, is contributing to the robust growth of India's outbound travel sector.

    More Indians fancying foreign vacations this summer

    Chinese foreign minister meets Sushma Swaraj, 'all issues' on table

    Chinese foreign minister meets Sushma Swaraj, 'all issues' on table
    China Sunday made contact with the new Indian government as its Foreign Minister Wang Yi, special envoy of President Xi Jinping, held talks with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj here, during which "all issues of significance" were on the table, including the unsettled border, Tibet and stapled visas besides a boost in trade ties.

    Chinese foreign minister meets Sushma Swaraj, 'all issues' on table

    AAP to move out following neighbours' complaint

    AAP to move out following neighbours' complaint
    41 Hanuman Road off Connaught Place in the heart of the national capital might no longer be the AAP's address as it could move out of the two-storey building that was its home for 18 months - because the neighbours are complaining, party sources said.

    AAP to move out following neighbours' complaint

    Arvind Kejriwal in damage control mode but can he save AAP?

    Arvind Kejriwal in damage control mode but can he save AAP?
    A day after a deep divide between AAP's top leaders came to the fore, its chief Arvind Kejriwal Saturday admitted it needed "restructuring" and said the "differences" had been resolved.

    Arvind Kejriwal in damage control mode but can he save AAP?

    Uneasy calm at Golden Temple post-clash on Operation Bluestar anniversary

    Uneasy calm at Golden Temple post-clash on Operation Bluestar anniversary
    An uneasy calm prevailed at the Golden Temple complex here on the 30th anniversary of Operation Bluestar Friday following a clash between radical Sikh activists and SGPC task force volunteers in which 10 people were injured.

    Uneasy calm at Golden Temple post-clash on Operation Bluestar anniversary