Four families claim Geeta is their daughter as India vows to bring her home
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj remains hopeful that Geeta would be brought back to India
PHOTO: REUTERS
As India continues to assure ‘stranded girl’ Geeta’s return to her home country, confusion over her parentage persists with four Indian families coming forward to claim her as their daughter.
According to Indian media reports, earlier, a deaf-mute couple from Amritsar claimed that Geeta was their daughter. Now, a couple from India’s Pratapgarh district’s Dhamohan village of Uttar Pradesh, Ramraj and Anara Devi, have claimed Geeta is actually Savita who disappeared after she went for praying in Bihar 11 years ago, the Hindustan Times reported.
Read: Arrest warrant issued by Indian court against IPL boss Lalit Modi
“We have seen her pictures and seen news reports on television and are fully convinced that she is one of our six children who were last seen at the age of 9," the couple said, according to Hindustan Times.
On the very same day, another family came forth in Bokaro, Jharkhand and claimed that Geeta is actually Kokia Kumari.
“The day I saw her photo, I knew she is my Kokia. If she is my daughter, the government should bring her back as soon as possible," a woman claiming to be her mother said.
Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj remained hopeful on Saturday that Geeta would be brought back to India and confirmed in a series of tweets that "all formalities are being completed to bring Geeta back to India."
Although Swaraj has come under scrutiny for assisting cricket manager Lalit Modi to obtain a passport in Britain and has come under immense pressure to resign from her role for doing so, she is determined to reunite Geeta with her family.
Read: Indian envoy meets Geeta in Karachi
Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Dr TCA Raghavan met the hearing- and speech-impaired Indian girl earlier this week and assured that he would do whatever he could to find her family back home.
Following the meeting in Karachi's Bilquis Edhi Foundation, Swaraj continued her efforts to find the girl's family who accidentally entered Pakistani territory 13 years ago.
"Gita in Karachi - During last few days four families from Punjab, Bihar, Jharkhand and UP have claimed Gita as their daughter," the minister said in a tweet.
She urged chief ministers of the said states to verify and report back.
Further, Swaraj shared through one of her posts information that Geeta may have passed on during the meeting.
In an earlier post, Swaraj expressed appreciation to Pakistan for their efforts in looking after the girl.
Leading Pakistani human rights activist Ansar Burney, who has been closely pursuing Geeta's case, thanked the Indian high commissioner for meeting Geeta.
"Dear Dr TCA Raghavan thanks for coming to Karachi and to meet Geeta alias Guddy @SushmaSwaraj @MEAIndia," he tweeted.
According to Indian media reports, earlier, a deaf-mute couple from Amritsar claimed that Geeta was their daughter. Now, a couple from India’s Pratapgarh district’s Dhamohan village of Uttar Pradesh, Ramraj and Anara Devi, have claimed Geeta is actually Savita who disappeared after she went for praying in Bihar 11 years ago, the Hindustan Times reported.
Read: Arrest warrant issued by Indian court against IPL boss Lalit Modi
“We have seen her pictures and seen news reports on television and are fully convinced that she is one of our six children who were last seen at the age of 9," the couple said, according to Hindustan Times.
On the very same day, another family came forth in Bokaro, Jharkhand and claimed that Geeta is actually Kokia Kumari.
“The day I saw her photo, I knew she is my Kokia. If she is my daughter, the government should bring her back as soon as possible," a woman claiming to be her mother said.
Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj remained hopeful on Saturday that Geeta would be brought back to India and confirmed in a series of tweets that "all formalities are being completed to bring Geeta back to India."
Although Swaraj has come under scrutiny for assisting cricket manager Lalit Modi to obtain a passport in Britain and has come under immense pressure to resign from her role for doing so, she is determined to reunite Geeta with her family.
Read: Indian envoy meets Geeta in Karachi
Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Dr TCA Raghavan met the hearing- and speech-impaired Indian girl earlier this week and assured that he would do whatever he could to find her family back home.
Following the meeting in Karachi's Bilquis Edhi Foundation, Swaraj continued her efforts to find the girl's family who accidentally entered Pakistani territory 13 years ago.
"Gita in Karachi - During last few days four families from Punjab, Bihar, Jharkhand and UP have claimed Gita as their daughter," the minister said in a tweet.
She urged chief ministers of the said states to verify and report back.
Further, Swaraj shared through one of her posts information that Geeta may have passed on during the meeting.
In an earlier post, Swaraj expressed appreciation to Pakistan for their efforts in looking after the girl.
Leading Pakistani human rights activist Ansar Burney, who has been closely pursuing Geeta's case, thanked the Indian high commissioner for meeting Geeta.
"Dear Dr TCA Raghavan thanks for coming to Karachi and to meet Geeta alias Guddy @SushmaSwaraj @MEAIndia," he tweeted.