Prayagraj (UP), May 31 (IANS): A Facebook post shared by a Bhojpuri star helped an elderly woman, who had gone missing from home a year ago, reunite with her family.

Nirmala Devi,71, had left her home in Danapur in Bihar in July last year and the family made frantic efforts to trace her but could not find the old woman.

Bhojpuri film actor, Khesari Lal Yadav, was in Prayagraj in the March this year, in connection with the shooting of his film.

On March 15, he visited an ashram in Naini area to celebrate his birthday. He cut his birthday cake flanked by inmates of the ashram.

A few days ago, he posted a photograph from the event on his Facebook page.

Ram Pratap Singh, a relative of Nirmala Devi, saw the Facebook photograph and informed the family members.

Mahesh Mal, nephew of Nirmala Devi, who lives in Lucknow, said, "My aunt had left the house on July 28, 2020 from Danapur and when we started looking for her, all the trails came to a dead end at Varanasi. We never had the faintest of idea that she could be staying at Prayagraj. But when we got the news through one of our relative that she can be seen in a picture posted on Facebook post, we rushed to Prayagraj and found her there. Now she is staying with us in Lucknow."

The manager of the Adharshila Vridhha ashram, Sushil Srivastava, said, that Nirmala Devi had left her house because of some family issues.

"She somehow reached Varanasi, from there she went to Vindhyachal and then to Zero road bus stop of Prayagraj.

"On August 3 last year, she was brought to the ashram. We tried to locate her house but all efforts proved futile because she could not remember anything correctly," he said.

Nirmala Devi has three daughters--Pratibha, Sangeeta and Prabha Singh.

Sushil said that when the family members met Nirmala Devi and requested her to come with them, she refused saying that she was happy and comfortable at the ashram.

However, they again counselled her after which she agreed to stay with her brother in Lucknow.