Vashi girl reunited with kin after 7 years

MUMBAI: A girl who had left her Vashi home the age of eight was reunited with her family after seven years.

MUMBAI: A girl who had left her Vashi home the age of eight was reunited with her family after seven years.

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Shweta Chauhan, 18, had left her house after a fight with her brother over meals. She lost her way and was found by a person who called the police. Shweta was sent to a children’s remand home in Bhiwandi as she could not recollect her address. After a few years, the home authorities sent her to Sanjeevani Ashram, an NGO in Virar, after the local court’s orders.

“Shweta was given a new name — Anita — at the ashram,” said Victor Bansiwar from the NGO. “She took her Class 10 board exams from the ashram and we admitted her to a bakery course. But, according to government rules, we cannot keep a person at the ashram after they attain 18 years of age. So we decided to look for her parents,”

He added, “We tried to trace her family at Koparkhairane in Navi Mumbai as Anita had mentioned the place to us, but to no avail. Later, we took her to Vashi and she recognised the surroundings. She took us to her locality and people there identified her. We submitted relevant documents to the court and they allowed the girl to go home.”

Shweta was reunited with her parents in the last week of September.

Meanwhile, Prashant Patil, governor of the Lions Club, Mumbai heard Shweta’s story and decided to help her financially, so that she can start a bakery for a living.