Lost at 12, girl reunites with family after four years in Faridabad home | Hindustan Times – Hindustan Times

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A 16-year-old girl living in a Faridabad orphanage was reunited with her family in Jharkhand’s West Singhbhum on Saturday, four years after she separated from a relative in a crowded place in Faridabad, officials said on Monday.
Police said names of at least around 225 districts of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand were read to the girl before she identified West Singhbhum as her hometown.
Police said the victim was 12 years old when she reached Faridabad in October 2022 with her maternal uncle to visit a relative, but got lost after being separated in a crowded place.
Officials said the girl, who was found by locals in an abandoned condition, was handed over to the police, who moved her to the orphanage where she lived until being reunited with her parents.
Yashpal Yadav, public relations officer of Faridabad police, said the girl did not know Hindi or any other language, so she could not tell the police her address despite counselling.
Yadav said police took cognisance of the case under ‘Operation Muskaan,’ which was launched in April to reunite missing children or those living in orphanages with their parents.
“A Kidnapping Abduction Team (KAT) from the Faridabad police was tasked with tracing the girl’s family and an investigation was launched,” he said.
“No missing person report for the girl had been filed as the parents never approached police anywhere because they were uneducated and poor,” Yadad said.
He added that a team was formed which along with the help of the District Child Welfare Committee, read out the names of all 225 districts aloud. “When the officials mentioned ‘West Singhbhum,’ the girl’s face lit up,” Yadav added.
Soon the team contacted police stations and village heads in West Singhbhum, providing them with the girl’s photograph.
“After a month-long effort, a village head reverted, saying the girl might be the daughter of one of the families in his area. Assistant sub-inspector Amar Singh then contacted the family members, who talked to the girl, recognised her, and burst into tears,” Yadav said.
Police said the family reached Faridabad and took the girl’s custody after completing all the formalities. “We have traced the parents of at least 150 children in the last two months under Operation Muskaan,” he added.

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