When Jayamma, 70, went missing one-and-a half years ago, her family looked in the neighbouring villages and cities and gave up as there was no trace of her.
On October 20, her daughter Sunanda was told that her mother had been found ¡ª 3,337km away in Sutarkandi, Assam. How and why she got there from Mandiganahalli in Hassan is not clear. Sunanda owes thanks to the Border Security Force, whose jawans came across the septuagenarian outside their outpost in Karimganj district.
BSF spotted woman at isolated spot in Assam
Jayamma¡¯s daughter Sunanda says these questions can wait. For now, she is thrilled to have her mother back home. BSF DG JC Nayak said the troops found her sitting at an isolated spot mumbling to herself around 5.30am on October 18. ¡°When they made enquiries, she spoke in a language the jawans could not understand. But they knew it was a south Indian language and called colleagues from the south. Constable Sahil Zabiulla, who knows Kannada, spoke to her and told us she was from Hassan district in Karnataka,¡± Nayak said.
The constable informed his company commander, Assistant Commandant Chotu Lal, about the woman. The company commander made a video of the woman¡¯s interaction with Zabiulla. She identified herself as Jayamma, wife of Lakshme Gowda of Mandiganahalli village. The video was uploaded on social media. Simultaneously, the company commander established contact with Hassan police. Jayamma was put up at the house of a civilian in a border village and given warm clothes and food.
Reuters
¡°On October 20, Mandiganahalli panchayat member Santosh saw the video and photo and identified the woman and informed her daughter Sunanda. Thereafter, he informed the police station as well. Since the company commander was in contact with police, a video call was arranged between the mother and the daughter the same day,¡± Nayak told TOI.
It was an emotional conversation as a teary Sunanda took her mother to task. Jayamma said she boarded the Hamsafar train between Bengaluru and Agartala and got off at Assam. As she couldn¡¯t speak to anyone, she wandered about. It is not clear how Jayamma survived all these months and how she ended up near the border post.
On October 21, Sunanda flew to Guwahati and reached the Sutarkandi post the next day. Mother and daughter broke down on seeing each other. After lunch at the BSF camp, they proceeded to Karimganj along with constable Zabiulla.
He accompanied them up to Guwahati by road and then they flew to Bengaluru on Tuesday. ¡°During her stay between October 18 and 22, Jayamma was provided comfortable accommodation, clothing and food by the BSF troops deployed under Mizoram and Cachar Frontier. Thanks to their prompt and humane efforts, a mother was reunited with her family after one-and-a-half years,¡± said Nayak.