Teen reunites with family after 12 years

BHOPAL: It was a family reunion which Riya Ela Singh, a teenager longed for 12 years. She was barely 5 when she went missing from Bhopal railway station while begging as she accidentally boarded a train and reached Delhi.
Accompanied by Delhi Police, Riya, now 17, reached Bhopal on Thursday. Her family was then was residing in a slum near Nehru Nagar area.After reaching there, she identified her house.
On Friday, her aunt Karat Bai, uncle Haji Lal and their son came to receive her at the child welfare committee (CWC) hearing. An emotional Riya told reporters that she was extremely happy to find her family. Her father, a daily wage labourer at Indore couldn't come at such short notice while her mother had re-married. "I used to cry and prayed to be reunited with my family," she said. Her aunt Karat Bai was all tears when she recounted how they searched for her everywhere. "We want to keep her with us as she is like our daughter," she said.
Chairperson of CWC Dr K S Dubey told TOI, "On directions of Delhi CWC, the girl was brought here and we are very happy that she was been reunited with her family."
Dubey said after reaching Delhi, a woman found her at the station and kept her for a while and then sent her to an orphanage in Gurgaon where she grew up and studied till last year. "The child was first produced before us on July 31, 2013 when she ran away from Gurgaon orphanage. From there, she went to another woman's home where she was kept as a maid. But she ran away from there as well. Delhi police found her alone in a park and brought her to us. Finally after counselling she revealed she was from Bhopal and if taken there she would identify her home," said Delhi CWC member Charu Makkar over telephone.
Riya belongs to the Pardhi tribe and now wants to become a teacher. "We have also advised Bhopal CWC to continue with follow up as the case is sensitive," Makkar added.