Siliguri: A mentally unstable woman, who went missing 10 years ago, was traced and sent back to her family by the authorities at the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital here. The 27-year-old old woman identified as Meena Mirda is mentally challenged since birth and had disappeared with no traces despite thorough efforts by her parents to find her.
Meena lived with her family at the Kilkot tea garden in Meteli block. Growing up, she started disappearing from home frequently though she would return on her own in a day or two, says her elder sister Manu Mirda. However, about a decade ago, she disappeared and did not come back for a long time. Her family and parents launched relentless searches to find her whereabouts through all means possible, but to no avail. They eventually gave up all hopes.
On November 30, an unidentified, mentally unstable patient was admitted to the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital. "She had marks on her head, was in a frail condition, and said she could not recall her name or address," one of the officials at the hospital said. The hospital decided to find the woman's family and identity, and started putting in efforts for the same. They also sought help from Siliguri Legal Aid Forum, which finally managed to trace the identity of the woman within 24 hours.
Meena's family could barely believe that they finally got back their long-lost daughter. Medical College Dean Sandeep Sengupta, Assistant Super Gautam Das, Animesh Barman, Dev Kumar Pradhan, Banga Ratna Bharti Ghosh, and Legal Aid Forum president Amit Sarkar played an active role in finding Meena and returning her to her family. "We are really happy to bring someone back home like this," Sandeep Sengupta told ETV Bharat.
