Abducted and sold at 8, woman reunites with family after 49 years

PTI, Dec 27, 2024, 2:29 PM IST

UP woman with family

Azamgarh (UP): Azamgarh police in Uttar Pradesh has reunited a woman with her family 49 years after she went missing from a fair as a child, officials said.

The reunion, facilitated under ‘Operation Muskan,’ brought an end to decades of separation, leaving the family emotional and overjoyed.

According to the police, the woman, now 57 years-old and known as Fulmati alias Fula Devi was abducted as an eight-year-old during a visit to the fair in Moradabad with her mother.

Superintendent of Police Hemraj Meena said, “She was taken away by an elderly man who later sold her to a resident of Rampur. Despite building a life there, she kept looking for her family.” The case came to light on December 19, when Dr. Pooja Rani, a school teacher from Rampur, informed Additional SP Shailendra Lal about Fulmati’s story.

The teacher revealed that Fulmati had spent years trying to locate her relatives in Azamgarh.

A team was formed to investigate and based on Fulmati’s description of her maternal uncle Ramchander and their home, the police tracked her family’s village in Mau district.

Her uncle, Ramhit, confirmed that Fulmati was indeed the girl who had gone missing in 1975. The team later located her brother, Laldhar, in Bedpur village of Azamgarh district, officials said.

Upon confirming her identity, the police arranged for Fulmati to meet her family, they said.

“This reunion is a result of focused efforts under ‘Operation Muskan’ to find missing persons,” said Meena.

“Seeing the family together after decades was heartwarming,” he added.

The case has drawn praise for the police’s dedication from the locals with Fulmati and her family expressing their gratitude.