Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy has directed the Deputy Commissioner of Mysuru to take steps to bring back a Mysuru woman, who was found in Himachal Hospital of Mental Health and Rehabilitation (HHMHR) in Shimla.
Padma, who hails from Kampalapura village in Periyapatna taluk of Mysuru district, reportedly went missing from her hometown two years ago.
According to Star of Mysore, she was depressed because her husband had abandoned her and married another woman, and had told her mother that she was going in search of her husband when she suddenly went missing.
Unbeknownst to the family, she was found roaming in Kangra, 217 km from Shimla, in 2016. She was taken to Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College in Kangra and later referred to HHMHR in June 2016.
For over two years, Padma was in the mental health facility in Shimla seeking treatment. She could not contact her family due to language issues, and was also unable to recall how she reached there.
Swathi Chandrashekar, a TV5 reporter in Delhi had met the Chief Minister during his visit there and requested him to bring her back to Mysuru. Following this, the Chief Minister has ordered that the Mysuru DC must make relevant arrangements.
Deccan Herald’s Poornima Nataraj spoke to Padma, when she said, “People here are very nice, but I want to go home and see my mother. My husband abandoned me and married again. I was at the Channapatna bus stand when two policewomen told me that they would take me home and then I landed here.”
Mysuru DC Abhiram Sankar is in touch with hospital authorities at HHMHR and has arranged for her return and for her treatment from now.
“Our team is ready to get Padma back to Mysuru. We will send a proposal to the health and family welfare department on Tuesday. The Chief Minister's Office is also keenly following the issue. Once the team is approved, it will leave for Shimla in the next four or five days. We will also try to send one of Padma's family members along with the team. About giving her a site and a house, we will talk to the gram panchayat about it. For now, the priority is bringing her home," Abhiram told Times of India