VIJAYAWADA: The tale of Latha, 25, who ran away from home about 12 years ago, ended on a happy note as she got reunited with her biological parents in the city on Tuesday.According to police, Latha, whose original name is Adilakshmi ran away from home on March 19, 2007 after being scolded by her mother Chenchamma for not going to school regularly. When she went to the bus station, an unidentified woman took her to Tamil Nadu from Vijayawada and sold Latha to Madhurika for `500, who raised her.
After 12 years of separation, she wanted to find her parents. She explained her past to her husband Kancheevan that she ran away from home and expressed her wish to meet her parents. He encouraged Latha in her pursuit. The couple hailing from a small village in Madurai district of Tamil Nadu, approached City Commissioner of Police Ch Dwaraka Tirumala Rao with the help of Vijayawada-based lawyer Sistla Ramprasad and submitted a petition during the Spandana programme on Monday.
“Based on the information provided by Latha, we enquired about her father Mangalagiri Lakshmi Narayana and also verified the missing cases filed in the city in the past one and half decades. Latha told us that she left home in 1996. But, she ran away from home in 2007.
On seeing the media reports, her family members approached us claiming Latha is their daughter. After verifying the facts, we reunited Latha with her family,” said the Commissioner of Police. After seeing her family members in the office of the commissioner, Latha broke into tears. Her parents Narayana and Chenchamma expressed gratitude to the media and police for their help.
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“We never expected that this day would come in our lives. After seeing a report published in a vernacular daily on the petition filed by Latha during Spandana, I approached the Commissioner of Police with the details of my daughter. After verifying my old ration card and family photos, the police came to a conclusion that our claim was genuine and reunited Latha with us,” said Narayana.
Sharing her joy with TNIE, Latha said, “After my adoptive mother Madhurika died of cancer recently, I got an urge to meet my family. We do not have children. Hence, we came in search of my parents and found them in just one day. I am very happy to see my parents after a long time.” It is the second such incident in the city as Kodipetla Bhavani (16) who went missing 12 years ago, got reunited with her biological parents on Sunday.