Govt On A Groom Hunt For Pak-Returned Geeta

Geeta, who has a speech and hearing impairment, was brought back to India from Pakistan two-and-a-half years ago. The government has been searching for her parents since then. It's only recently that the government has started looking for a groom for her.

Groom Hunt

One June 7 and 8, a gathering was held at the Indore Deaf Bilingual Academy, where Geeta stays. While four groups turned up for Geeta, Monica Punjabi, director of the Indore academy, said that two of them showed their interest in her. One of them is from Jaipur and the other one is from Gwalior. But before the academy could meet the parents of the two, Geeta said she wanted to meet more suitors.

Again, on June 24, a 'Parichay Sammelan' was held in which some other prospective brides were also lined up along with Geeta, reported Indian Express.

The Parichay Sammelan

More than 160 speech and hearing impaired people were brought to the introduction meeting by the academy. Geeta was seen introducing herself on the stage. She later expressed her interest in two people, from Surat and Raipur.

B C Jain, Joint Director, Social Justice Department of Madhya Pradesh government had also attended a meeting. He said that it will take time for both the sides to make up their minds.

When did it all start?

It all started when Swaraj declared in July 2017 that Geeta will be married soon and MP chief minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, will do her Kanyadaan.

However, the actual efforts began only in April earlier this year. Gyanendra Purohit, an Indore-based sign language expert, gave Facebook advertisements inviting proposals from potential grooms.

Purohit gave insights into the whole situation and said that Geeta’s expectations “have risen very high”.

“She needs to be mentally stable. She often thinks that actor Salman Khan will come one day and unite her with her parents… Once she said her marriage could happen only after her parents are found,” he added.

She is a huge Salman Khan fan and it seems that she has resonated too much with the movie ' Bhajrangi bhaijaan's ' plot.

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Purohit also revealed that she often expresses the wish to meet film stars and cricketers.

Search for Family

Geeta had been accidentally separated from her family when she was very young. She spent more than a decade in Edhi Foundation in Karachi. She returned to India two-and-a-half years back and has been wanting to meet her parents since then.

In October 2017, Swaraj had requested her parents to come forward and take her home, via a video.

“She often gets restless. She desperately wants to be with you. Whoever provides a clue to her parents will get a reward of Rs 1 lakh,” she had added.

Faisal Edhi from the charity said, "She was happy with us… It seems she is getting frustrated because the search to locate her parents is getting longer and longer,” reported Sunday Express.

Picture Credit: The Express Tribune

Read Also : Geeta, Stuck in Pakistan for Over 10 Years Returns to India

Kriti Dwivedi is an intern with SheThePeople.Tv