Deaf and mute Geeta hopes to find family in India

Stranded at the age of eleven, a hearing and speech challenged Indian girl Geeta spent over a decade in Pakistan before she finally returned to India at the age of 23 in the hope to reunite with her family. Almost eight months later she still hasn’t been able to meet them.

Geeta lives in an institute for the hearing and speech impaired in India.

Several couples have since then approached the institute, claiming to be the lost girl’s parents but she did not recognize anyone nor were those people able to substantiate their claims, Indian media reported.

While speaking to the director of the institute Monika Punjabi, Geeta expressed her desire to travel by train to search her parents.

A press release from the Madhya Pradesh government states that Geeta claims to know the place where she was separated from her parents years ago and she might be taken to different places where there is a possibility of finding them.

Geeta was around 11 years old when Pakistani soldiers found her sitting at the Samjhauta Express station in Lahore. She was then adopted by Pakistani philanthropist  Bilquis Edhi and spent over a decade at the Edhi foundation.

A temple was built for Geeta where she prayed. Bilquis Edhi wanted her to marry a Hindu boy and settle down in Pakistan but Geeta insisted on marrying only after she had returned to her country.

Geeta’s story came to light after Salman Khan starrer blockbuster film Bajrangi Bhaijan released. The film’s story revolved around a mute Pakistani girl who crossed the border and was returned to her parents by an Indian man.