Two siblings aged 22 and 19 years who left home 13 years ago after being scolded by their mother have been reunited with her with the help of a child rights activist.
The siblings -- Rakhi and her brother Babloo -- left home in Bilasganj locality of Agra at the age of nine and six years and spent time at children's homes in Noida and Lucknow.
They first reunited with each other through social media in 2018 and then started searching for their mother.
Rakhi now works at a mall in Gurugram, while her brother Babloo is employed with a company in Bengaluru. Babloo said that a rail engine placed outside Agra Cantt station made him recall that he is from Agra.
"We both left home when our mother scolded us. After that we asked a rickshaw driver to drop us at the residence of 'nani' (maternal grandmother) in the city. But he dropped us at a station in Agra. Then we reached Meerut railway station where we were caught by a member of Childline who sent us to the children's homes in Lucknow and Noida," Babloo told PTI over phone.
"During my stay in a children's home in Lucknow, I got training for mobile repairing. I was released from the home as I turned 18 and sent to a company in Chennai dealing in mobile repairing work," he added.
"From there I moved to Bengaluru and began working at a private company. I kept searching for my sister and mother," Babloo said, adding that he found his sister in 2018 through social media and then they began searching for mother Neetu Kumari.
Naresh Paras, the child rights activist in Agra who helped the sister-brother duo find their mother, said, "I got requests from them last week. After that I began searching for their family."
"When Rakhi and Babloo left home, they were caught at Meerut station. At that time, it seems they forgot their exact address and mentioned their locality Bilasganj as Bilaspur. For me, it was difficult to search the exact address of the children," Paras said.
The activist said that he also sought help from the Agra police.
"I got information that a missing complaint was lodged on June 16, 2010 by the mother of two children at Jagdishpura police station. I got the address and tried to contact the mother, but she had shifted to another locality," he added.
Paras said finally, he managed to locate the place where Neetu was living.
"I informed Neetu about her two children, she was too happy and excited to meet both the children. While Rakhi reached Agra from Gurugram and met her mother, Babloo joined them through a video call from Bengaluru," Paras added.
After speaking to his mother, Babloo said, "It was a very emotional moment for me to speak to my mother and sister. I am thankful to Naresh Paras."
