Umashankara Karya/TNN
Bangalore, Apr 18: With tears welling up in her eyes, she met her daughter after 10 long years - her adorable moppet who had grown up into a lovable child. Overwhelmed with emotion, she gazed at her daughter, at times not believing her eyes.
It has been a mother of all struggles for Mamatha, the hapless woman. Ten years after her infant daughter was sold twice - once by a "friend" - Mamatha met her daughter, Pushpa, on April 8.
The reunion was facilitated by the police and the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), whom Mamatha had approached.
Speaking to The Times of India, Mamatha recounted her struggle to trace her daughter. The overjoyed mother has a new worry now: her daughter is being threatened by the two families who had bought her. But she is confident that her daughter will come back to her unharmed.
A tearful Mamatha narrated those traumatic days. She was pregnant when she migrated to Bangalore from Kolar in 1998. Her husband, Venugopal, deserted her and their son Puneeth after Pushpa was born.
Mamatha then met Geetha Guddaiah through a friend. Geetha gave Mamatha refuge. In 1999, when Mamatha fell ill, Geetha admitted her to Victoria Hospital and took care of her hospital expenses. When Mamatha returned home from hospital, there was no sign of her daughter. She was told the little one was staying with Geetha’s relatives. Mamatha suspected foul play and learnt that her daughter had been sold off by Geetha. When Mamatha confronted her, Geetha demanded Rs 5,000 to reveal the girl’s whereabouts.
With no money and nowhere to go, Mamatha continued to stay with Geetha for another four years, constantly asking her to get Pushpa back. The illiterate and desperate Mamatha managed to contact her neighbour in Kolar recently and escaped to that town. There, she sold her land and returned to Bangalore and rented a house. Now financially sound, she decided to fight for her daughter.
She first approached the police, who said they couldn’t do much as the case was 10 years old. But they referred the issue to CWC.
CWC interrogated Geetha, who confessed having sold Pushpa to one Deepa, who in turn had sold the girl to Gayathri. It was when CWC ordered Geetha to produce Pushpa before it that Mamatha met her daughter after 10 long years. CWC has posted the case to April 22. Mamatha continues to live on hope.