Apna Ghar inmate who went missing from Panipat, found in Hisar

Rohtak-based shelter home Apna Ghar's inmate Puja, who had gone missing from a Panipat-based shelter home on Monday morning, was finally traced in Hisar. The Panipat police took the girl into custody and brought her back to Panipat. Puja was shifted from Apna Ghar to Mother Teresa Charitable Home, Panipat, on May 25, after the alleged scandal of sexual exploitation of inmates at Apna Ghar came to light.

According to the police, Puja had left the Panipat charitable home on Monday morning to look for her parents, who used to stay with her in Hisar. She reached Hisar by bus and was found roaming in the area of Urban Estate by a woman, Meena, who works as a domestic help in one of the houses in the Urban Estate, Hisar.

Puja told Meena that she had come from Panipat in search of her lost parents. Meena then informed her employer Suresh Sharma, who further contacted an NGO, Help and Care.

The NGO authorities then took Puja to the same locality where she used to live with her parents, before she was admitted to Apna Ghar. Her former neighbours recognised her and informed her that her parents no longer lived there. The NGO authorities then contacted the police and informed them about Puja.

"We could trace the girl with the help of Sharma and the NGO's associate Krishan Malik. The girl was taken into custody and medically examined. We also managed to trace Puja's mother. If Puja's parents want to take her with them they can follow the legal procedures and take her custody. For now, the girl has been sent back to the charitable home in Panipat. Security guards have also been deployed at the shelter home," said a Panipat police spokesperson.

Puja was among the 10 girls, who were shifted from Apna Ghar to Mother Teresa Charitable Home on May 25. According to the police, she went out of the shelter home on her own, and was not kidnapped or abducted by anybody.

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