A 16-year-old girl who was kidnapped when she was seven has been reunited with her family in Mumbai, India, after almost a decade.
According to information from the BBC, the girl, identified as Pooja Guad, disappeared at the age of seven on her way to school, in the town of Juhu Galli, on January 22, 2013. Pooja lived with her two brothers and their parents in a small house located in a suburban slum.
That day, Pooja and her older brother Rohit argued over the money their grandparents gave them. Rohit, who was walking a little ahead of his sister for fear of being late, did not notice that Pooja did not enter the compound.
According to police reports, the girl was kidnapped by Harry D’Souza and his wife, Soni D’Souza, as the couple did not have a child of their own. The couple took advantage of Rohit’s carelessness and approached Pooja, who offered her an ice cream to get her to get into her car.
As stated by Pooja, initially, they traveled to Goa and Karnataka, states in western and southern India. For a short time, the girl was allowed to attend school. However, the situation worsened when the couple moved to Mumbai after having a child. The young woman was taken out of school and became a slave to her kidnappers.
They beat me with a belt, kicked me, punched me. Once I was hit with a rolling pin so hard that my back started to bleed. I was also forced to do housework and work 12 to 24 hours outside the home.
While she was kidnapped, Pooja had no access to money or a phone and was constantly under surveillance. Until one day, the young woman decided to ask for help to escape after one night, while her captors were sleeping, she searched for her name on YouTube and found videos about her disappearance.
It was then that I decided to seek help and escape.
However, it took her seven months to work up the courage to ask the nanny, Pramila Devendra, who worked for the D’Souzas, for help. The 35-year-old woman immediately agreed to help her.
He called one of the numbers on the missing posters and spoke to a family neighbor.
Later, through a video call, Pooja’s mother, Poonam Gaud, managed to contact her daughter, whom she recognized due to a birthmark. Finally, on August 4, after a “miraculous escape”, Pooja, now 16, was able to reunite with his mother, although sadly his father had died four months earlier of cancer.
Once they were reunited, Pooja, some relatives and Devendra went to the police station to file a complaint against the kidnappers.
I told the police everything. I even told them where my kidnappers lived.
Due to his story, the police managed to identify and arrest the accused. In addition, Milind Kurde, Chief Inspector of Mumbai’s DN Nagar Police Station, told the BBC that several cases have been registered against those accused of kidnapping, threats, physical violence and violating child labor laws.
While it was a happy homecoming for Pooja, she was saddened to learn that her father, who was the sole breadwinner in the family, and her grandfather passed away. Since then, her mother has taken over her job selling sandwiches at a train station to support her three children. But profits are meager and she struggles to make ends meet.
Pooja is still processing her trauma. She has nightmares and feels sad that she will never be able to see her father again. For her safety, she spends most of her time at home or is accompanied by a relative when she leaves home, although she says that she wants to study and help her mother financially.
However, despite the difficulties, her mother says she couldn’t be happier to have her daughter back.
The work is exhausting, but every time I see Pooja, I find strength again. I am so happy that she is back.