'I will never eat ragda pattice outside again,' says lost and found child

"I am meeting my mother tomorrow," was a sentence that seven-year-old Megha kept repeating like a chant all of Tuesday after she was told that she would be reunited with her family in Mumbai the next day. So excited was little Megha that she slept only at 1 am yesterday, said the Shaikhs, who have been taking care of her since they found her crying near Dal Gate in Srinagar a fortnight ago.

Also Read: mid-day helps reunite missing 7-year-old girl with her parents

Megha with her grandfather Rakesh Thakur and her saviour Abdul Shaikh in Srinagar yesterday morning

As the reunion with her family neared, however, Megha also grew a little fearful. She was afraid that wandering off to have ragda pattice in June last year, which led to her going missing, might get her a beating from her mother. The Shaikh family did everything possible to the last few hours of Megha's stay with them memorable.

(From left) Megha's mother, grandmother and a neighbour after she reached Mumbai last evening. Pic/Suresh KK

A special chicken curry was cooked and her favourite sweet was made on Tuesday night. "Megha barely ate, though. She was too excited about returning to her parents in Mumbai," Abdul Rashid Shaikh told mid-day from Srinagar.

"We planned to put Megha in a madrassa after November if her parents or relatives could not be traced till then," said Shaikh, when he was asked if he intended to adopt Megha and send her to school.

mid-day's report yesterday

Having got up at 7 am yesterday, Megha dressed up in a new t-shirt and sweater, salwar, sandals and hair band, all bought for her by Abdul's wife Dilshad. Megha asked for a special Kashmiri roti (baqerkhani) for breakfast and asked for some of it to be packed so that she could make her family in Mumbai taste it too.

Meeting grandpa
Around 8 am, the Shaikhs and Megha were called to Nehru Park police station in Srinagar, where her grandfather Rakesh Thakur and ACP Vasant Dhoble were waiting. Megha recognised her dadaji and ran into his arms.

Grateful at having found his grandchild after looking for her in more than five states for over a year, the overwhelmed grandfather was in tears and thanked the police and the foster family repeatedly.

"Her grandfather was carrying a huge picture of her and we used it to confirm that he was who he claimed. He also pointed out an injury mark on her head, which was clearly visible in the photograph as well," said Shaikh.

Head Constable Gulam Ahmed, attached to Nehru Park police station, said, "We recorded the statement of the family and handed the girl over to her grandfather. A medical examination of the girl was conducted before we allowed them to return to Mumbai."

Flight missed
The excitement over the reunion, and completing the legal formalities at Nehru Park police station delayed the medical visit, because of which Megha, her grandfather and ACP Dhoble missed the afternoon flight to Mumbai that they planned to take.

ACP Vasant Dhoble told mid-day, "We completed the formalities at Nehru Park police station, where the statements were recorded of the members of the family which had found her. As per procedure, we had to take the girl for medical examination to G B Pant Paediatric Hospital in Sonawar, Srinagar.

But, since we got held up at the hospital, we missed the 2 pm flight and had to board another one in the evening." Megha left Srinagar with R220, which she received as a gift from her new family on Bakri Eid. The family also packed a bag for her, which contained a new pair of clothes, toys, biscuits and chocolates.