KOLKATA: A mentally-unstable woman returned home after her photograph was uploaded on the social media by staffers of Purulia district hospital and contacted her family at Tarapith in Birbhum district of West Bengal.
Basanti Saha quit her home after she lost her husband and her only son left home in quick succession a year and half ago. Though her maternal family filed missing complaints, they had almost lost hope of finding their daughter back.
Basanti, who wandered through the western districts of the state and took shelter at Purulia district hospital a fortnight ago, was noticed by the canteen staff. “She looked starved with torn clothes and a swollen leg but never asked for medicine or food. Some canteen staffers felt pity for her and treated her leg, gave her some food and arranged her bed at the corner of the canteen. When asked about her native place, she only replied ‘Birbhum’. It was nearly impossible to search her village from entire Birbhum district,” a woman canteen staffer said.
However, the young hospital staffers struck with the idea of locating her village through social media. Accordingly, the woman canteen staffers bathed Basanti and draped her in a new sari and uploaded her smiling photograph on Facebook giving information about and location of the woman.
Within a few days, the Facebook post reached her native Narayanpur village in Birbhum district after which her brother Ananta Saha came to the hospital to take her back.
Sources revealed that Basanti broke into tears on seeing her brother.
Nevertheless, the hospital informed the police who handed her over to Ananta after thorough checking.