The girl kidnapped 10 years ago met family: just 500 meters from home, but not found; remember everything from old news

Year 2013, month of January. Somebody kidnapped a 7 year old girl while going to school on 22nd. The family members searched a lot, also filed a police report. The police searched for the girl for years, but she could not be traced. During this, her identity in the government records remained as Missing Girl Number 166.

In the year 2022, the girl turned 16 years old. It had been 9 years since he was separated from his family. She was living 500 meters away from her house in Andheri West area of ​​Mumbai, but she was not aware of this. Finally, she met her family on 4th August 2022 at 8:20 pm.

This story is about a girl who struggled with her identity for 9 years. A man kidnapped her on the way to school in the desire of a child. When the man had a child of his own, he made the girl work as a maid. The wife of the accused would also beat up the girl. During this, the accused said intoxicated that he was not their child, but had brought him up.

kidnapped near school 9 years ago
Seven-year-old Pooja Gaur from Mumbai was going to school with her brother on 22 January 2013. During this, there was a fight between the siblings over pocket money and she was left behind. Accused Joseph D’Souza saw the girl wandering near the school. He and his wife Soni were longing for a child for a long time. He kidnapped the girl.

Pooja and her mother come out of the police station. On 4th August 2022, both of them met after 9 years and 7 months.

Fearing punishment, Pooja was sent to Karnataka
After the police investigation started, the media also started reporting the matter and local people started a campaign to find Pooja. Accused D’Souza feared that if the girl was found, it would be difficult for him and his wife. He sent Pooja to stay in a hostel in Raichur, Karnataka.

When I had my baby, I started doing babysitting.
In 2016, a child was born to D’Souza and Soni. D’Souza called Pooja back from Karnataka after she found it difficult to bear the expenses of two children. They put her on the job of babysitting. He also changed his house. They came to live in the same Gilbert Hill area of ​​Andheri (West), where the original house of worship was.

Milind Kurde, Senior Inspector, DN Nagar, said that D’Souza felt that no one would recognize the girl as she grew up. The posters of his ‘Looking for the Missing’ were also removed. He had also told the girl not to talk to anyone in the area.

Pooja’s uncle told that D’Souza’s wife Soni used to beat her. D’Souza used to tell him under the influence of alcohol that in 2013 he had picked him up from somewhere. This made Pooja understand that both of them were not her parents, but she was so afraid of both of them that she did not understand how to run away from there.

Know yourself from old articles on Google
The house help where Pooja was working as a baby sitter for 7 months helped Pooja. After hearing Pooja’s story, HouseHelp searched Google by entering the girl’s name, missing and D’Souza’s name, which found articles related to the girl’s search campaign at that time.

Pooja’s uncle told that after seeing his picture in those articles, Pooja remembered everything. He also remembered his house, which was nearby. Pooja found five phone numbers on a missing poster. Four of them were not working, but the fifth number belonged to Rafiq, who lived in the neighbourhood. That number was working.

After Pooja went missing in 2013, her family had put up missing posters, which reminded 16-year-old Pooja of her kidnapping after seeing it on the internet.

Video call reunites with family
When Rafiq picked up the phone, at first he was suspicious. Then he asked for Pooja’s photo as proof. On Thursday morning, Pooja made a video call with the help of House Help, whose screenshot was shown by Rafiq to Pooja’s mother and uncle. Seeing Pooja in the picture, tears came out of both of them.

Pooja’s family got the details of her place of work and informed the DN Nagar police station. When the police reached there, Pooja came downstairs on the pretext of moving the child whose baby she used to sit. Pooja and her mother met after 9 years at 8.20 pm.

Human trafficking case against D’Souza
The police have registered a case against the D’Souza couple in several sections including kidnapping, human trafficking, illegal labour. Harry D’Souza has been sent to police custody, while his wife Soni is yet to be arrested as there is no one else to look after their six-year-old.

The police is currently conducting a medical test for 16-year-old Pooja. He will be produced before the Child Welfare Committee, after which he will be handed over to his family. The police has also sent a team to Karnataka, so that the exact information about where Pooja was kept there can be found.

The policeman who never gave up hope

Retired ASI Rajendra Dhondu Bhosale, who continued his search for Pooja even after 7 years of retiring.

When the girl did not reach home after school, the family lodged a complaint with the DN Nagar police station. The matter of Pooja’s disappearance first came to Assistant Sub-Inspector Rajendra Dhondu Bhosale. They were looking for 166 girls who went missing between 2008 and 2015. By the time he retired in 2015, he had traced 165 girls.

Pooja was the missing girl number 166, which she continued to search for 7 years after her retirement. After meeting Pooja, he said that you can retire as a policeman, but humanity does not end with retirement. She lives till your death. If you can’t understand the pain of losing a baby girl, then you are not human.