The deaf and mute girl Geeta who was brought back from Pakistan in 2015, paid a tribute to former external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj in sign language in Indore on Wednesday, 7 August, ANI reported.
Geeta had mistakenly crossed the border over to Pakistan over 14 years ago and Swaraj’s intervention and the help of Pakistani officials brought her back to India.
She travelled from Karachi to Delhi in October 2015 and on being asked about her reaction, she had then made it clear that she was very happy to be in India. She was accompanied by the Edhi family, who run a charitable foundation and looked after her in Pakistan.
Janardan Mahto, a labourer from a Saharsa, Bihar, had then claimed to be Geeta’s father. However, a DNA test proved that the Mahatos were not Geeta’s family.
Swaraj had then informed the media that four families from different states had claimed to be Geeta’s family. Further, she had said that if they were not successful in finding Geeta’s kin, she would be kept in an Indore institution so that her sign language improves.
A campaign to find a suitable match for Geeta was also conducted under Ministry of External Affairs and a Facebook advertisement had been put out for the same. As many as 50 people from different parts of India had expressed their desire to marry Geeta. However, only 14 proposals were short-listed after Geeta's consent and six of them were invited to meet her in Indore.
Senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj passed away on Tuesday, 6 August, at the age of 67. After she suffered a heart attack, she was brought to Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences in a critical condition on Tuesday night.
(With inputs from ANI and PTI)
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