An eight-year-old tribal girl who had gone missing from a government-run residential school in Maharashtra’s Palghar district was found safe at a villager’s home and reunited with her parents, officials said on Sunday.
According to the news agency PTI, the girl had been dropped off at the ashram school in Parli, Wada taluka, by her mother after a short break. Her brother is also a student at the same school. On the afternoon of November 6, the headmistress informed police that the child had gone missing from the campus.
According to Wada police station inspector Dattatreya Kindre, the girl was reportedly “reluctant to stay at the school and wanted to go back home.” Despite the staff’s attempts to comfort her, she quietly left the premises.
Given that the school is surrounded by dense forests and isolated terrain known for wild animals, authorities feared for her safety. Police immediately launched a search operation, questioning locals and scanning CCTV footage. One clip showed the girl walking alone on the road from Parli toward Wada.
As per PTI, the search gained momentum when footage from a passing vehicle’s camera showed her heading toward Mandva Bochalpada, a remote village. Acting on this lead, police coordinated with local residents and eventually found the girl at a woman’s house in the village. She was safely reunited with her family soon after.
Palghar shocker: 10-year-old tribal girl bought as slave for Rs 5000
In another incident, a chilling case of alleged bonded labour and child exploitation has surfaced from Wada in Palghar district, where a 10-year-old tribal girl from the Katkari community was allegedly taken away for domestic work and subjected to months of physical and verbal abuse.
The accused, identified as Juliana Leslie Patil from Uttan in Mira-Bhayander, has been booked under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, and the Bonded Labour Abolition Act.
An FIR filed at Wada Police Station details the ordeal of the child, Kavita (name changed), and the struggle of her grandmother Yogita (name changed, 55), who filed the complaint.
The incident dates back to the Ganpati festival of 2024, when the accused, Juliana, arrived unannounced at the family’s home in Gaurapur, Katkari Wadi, Wada.
Yogita, who works as a labourer with her husband at a brick kiln in Kharbao, lives with her extended family, including four children of her deceased son.
According to the FIR, Patil saw the children playing outside and offered to take the eldest, Kavita, for housework. “I told her I would not send Kavita,” Yogita said. “But she insisted, saying if Kavita didn’t wish to stay, she would send her back.”
(With PTI inputs)
