New Delhi: Nearly two months after Geeta, a deaf-mute Indian woman who accidentally crossed into Pakistan more than a decade ago, arrived in India to meet her long-lost family, little did she know that the reunion would take such long.
While Geeta has not recognised anyone among those who claim she is their daughter, sources confirmed that there are no more claimants now. Only one DNA test has been carried out till now to determine parentage — on the Mahato family from Bihar — but that has returned negative results.
Staying with an Indore-based NGO, Geeta is now pinning her hopes on Bollywood star Salman Khan to help her meet her family, just like he did in his blockbuster Bajrangi Bhaijaan. Geeta, now 23, was reportedly just seven or eight years old when Pakistan Rangers found her sitting alone in the Samjhauta Express at Lahore railway station 15 years ago.
“So far seven-eight families have come forward saying perhaps Geeta is their child. While we have received the pictures, she has not said that they may be her parents. Now there are no more families claiming the same,” Monica Punjabi, a director at the Indore-based Mook Badhir Sangathan, an institute for persons with disabilities where Geeta has been staying, told this newspaper.
Sources at the AIIMS, where the DNA of the Mahato family was tested, also confirmed that after the Bihar family they have not received any more DNA samples for testing. At the Indore Bilingual Academy for the Deaf, Geeta is learning sign language and receiving skill-based training.
She has made some friends at the centre and also has a favourite teacher. Her day starts with prayers at a nearby temple. Insiders say she often gets upset that she has not been able to find her family till now and is pinning her hopes on Salman Khan.
“She is happy here but often gets disturbed as she never knew that the wait to meet her family would be too long. She gives credit to Salman for her return to India and feels he will help her meet her family,” added Monica Punjabi.
