Trafficked to TN nearly 13 years ago, Andhra woman finally reunites with family

Latha, who went missing from Vijayawada in 2007, had approached the police on Monday in search of her biological family.
Trafficked to TN nearly 13 years ago, Andhra woman finally reunites with family
Trafficked to TN nearly 13 years ago, Andhra woman finally reunites with family
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A heartwarming reunion was witnessed in the Vijayawada City Police Commissioner's office on Tuesday, as Mangalagiri Lakshminarayana and Chenchamma broke down into tears on reconciling with their daughter who had gone missing from their home in VIjayawada nearly 13 years ago.

On Monday, a young woman from Madurai approached the Vijayawada police seeking help to get in touch with her biological family, years after she went missing from the city. The woman, who was named Aadilakshmi by her biological family, told police that she had ran away from her home when she was a child when her parents reprimanded her for being irregular to school. She ended up at the Vijayawada bus stand, where a woman who found her took her away to Tamil Nadu and sold her to a woman looking to adopt a child. The adoptive mother who renamed the child as Latha and raised her in Madurai passed away recently. The woman approached the police on Monday during ‘Spandana’, a weekly program held at various government departments to address grievances of the public. The Commissioner of Police on Monday requested media and the public to provide wide publicity so the woman’s parents could be traced.  

On hearing the news, Latha’s parents, who had been searching for her ever since she went missing in 2007, got in touch with the Vijayawada police who helped them reunite with their daughter. Latha’s family had filed a police complaint in March 2007 regarding their missing 13 year old daughter, claiming that she was mentally unstable. Several Telugu newspapers also reported on the case at the time, but brought no relief to the family. The father Lakshminarayana, who had been working as a homeguard, even had to quit his job as he was unable to manage his duties while looking for his daughter, according to the police. 

Latha, who spoke in Tamil to the police authorities and media, was able to recollect a few details about her biological family, including her parents’ and brothers’ names. On seeing media coverage of the case, Chenchamma and Lakshminarayaan recognized their daughter and approached the police.

On losing her adoptive mother, Latha and her husband, who also reportedly does not have an immediate family, decided to look for Latha’s family in Andhra. A day before Lath approached the police, another young girl in Vijayawada was also reunited with her family 15 years after she had gone missing. She was able to trace her brother when an employer suggested looking for them on Facebook. 

Speaking to media, Latha talked about life after she went missing. "A woman took me to Chennai and sold me for Rs 500 to my mother. She raised me like her own kid, and got me married to Kanchivanam. After she passed away, I told my husband that I desperately wanted to meet my (biological) family. He understood me and brought me here to connect with my parents."

Vijayawada City Police, under CP Dwaraka Tirumala Rao's supervision, completed all the legal formalities and reunited her with family.

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