BENGALURU: A 50-year-old mentally ill woman, who had gone missing 23 years ago, was reunited with her family members here on Wednesday. Saakamma was found in an old age home in Mandi, Himachal Pradesh. She hails from Dananayakanakere village in Hospet taluk of Vijayanagara district.
A turning point in her life came when a probationary IPS officer from Hassan, Ravinandan BM, met her in the old age home a few days ago.
He shared a video of Saakamma with his friend Vijay Kumar in Bengaluru, who posted it on social media, tagging the Social Welfare Department.
Kumar, who conducts coaching classes for competitive exams, told TNIE that the management of the old age home informed Ravinandan, who works in Mandi district in Himachal Pradesh, that they have a woman inmate, who only spoke Kannada.
Ravinandan met Saakamma and recorded the video in which she stated that she was from Dananayakanakere village in Hospet of Ballari district (now in Vijayanagara district).
After she went missing at a family function in her hometown, Saakamma begged and lived on the streets of various towns and cities and finally reached Himachal Pradesh by train two years ago.
In her long conversation with Ravinandan, Saakamma spoke about her brother, family name, and residential address. Ravinandan sent the video to Kumar, who initially shared it with his students and their WhatsApp groups, hoping that someone from Ballari would recognise her.
When there was no response, Kumar posted the video on social media on December 13, tagging the principal secretary of the Social Welfare Department, P Manivannan, and the helpline number of the department.
Manivannan reacted swiftly and coordinated with the Ballari deputy commissioner and the superintendent of police. After local officials traced Saakamma’s family members, she was brought to Bengaluru by flight by a three-member team.
Addressing the media on Wednesday, Social Welfare Minister HC Mahadevappa lauded Kumar, who played a crucial role in reuniting Saakamma with her family.
Saakamma’s third son, Vikram, a daily wage worker, said, “We are very happy to see her after 23 years. We lost her during a family function. After our week-long search for her went in vain, my father filed a police complaint. Later, we lost hope. Two years ago, we performed her last rites, believing that she was no more. But a few days ago, officials from Ballari showed a video to my aunt and we identified her. Although my mother has lost her memory, we are glad to have her back. We will take care of her henceforth.”