JALANDHAR: The 16-year-old girl who had escaped the Children’s Home for Girls at the Gandhi Vanita Ashram on Monday, was traced to Faridkot today. The girl had fled from the Ashram to her aunt’s (bua) home at village Mudki in Faridkot district. A five-member team is bringing her back to Jalandhar.
It was the girl’s maternal grandmother (Nani) who informed the Ashram authorities of her visit to her aunt’s home. It was homesickness and eagerness to meet her kin which caused her to take the step. Interestingly, she told a bus staff in Jalandhar that the Ashram authorities were ‘after her’, to hitch a ride to Faridkot, via a free bus service for women, by using her Aadhaar card.
The 16-year-old had slipped away from the office of the Child Welfare Committee (on the Gandhi Vanita Ashram premises) early on Monday afternoon.
While the team of the Gandhi Vanita Ashram was in constant touch with her grandmother to seek her whereabouts, it was on Tuesday afternoon that her family informed the authorities that she had been found.
Harvinder Kaur, Child Development & Project Officer (CDPO), Jalandhar, and Superintendent, Children’s Home for Girls, said, “The girl was traced to Faridkot earlier today, after which we reached her aunt’s home and are bringing her back from there. We had been in touch with her grandmother since last night. Despite repeated calls, she said they hadn’t heard about her. But early this afternoon, she called us herself to tell us the girl had reached Faridkot. She hitched a ride from Jalandhar in a bus yesterday telling the bus staff that the Ashram authorities were after her. She told us she was eager to meet her grandmother.”
Notably, as per the Ashram authorities, the girl’s release order was also due yesterday, due to which she became restless and decided to leave for her aunt’s place on her own.
CDPO Harvinder Kaur further added, “The girl told us she had been looking to meet her Nani but she wasn’t coming. So she decided to run away. Her Nani also reached her aunt’s house at Faridkot today. The girl’s guardians asked us to take her back and follow the due process. Her formal release order will be issued some days later.”
The five-member team of the Children’s Home for Girls which went to bring her back included the Ashram’s superintendent, CDPO Harvinder Kaur herself, security personnel and the Ashram’s house mother, among others.