The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
A Metro stop gone wrong, a girl untraced for 5 days
MISSING 19-YEAR-OLD IS SPEECH AND HEARING IMPAIRED
A METRO’S brief halt at Jahangirpuri station has turned Suman’s life upside down. Suman is the mother of a 19year-old speech and hearing impaired girl, Sunita, who has been missing for five days after she got down at the wrong Metro station.
According to Sunita’s family, she suffered “brain fever” when she was seven years old, which also hampered her mental development. “She cannot eat without help. She cannot hear well and she cannot talk... Nobody knows where she is now. I regret taking the Metro,” Suman told The Indian Express.
Police said Sunita was unable to get out of the Metro at Jahangirpuri station, while her mother and sister deboarded. The girl deboarded at the next stop, Adarsh Nagar station.
The incident came to light on the evening of April 21, when Suman approached the Metro police station. The incident had taken place in the afternoon.
On Tuesday, the girl’s family and other women protested outside Adarsh Nagar Metro station, accusing Metro officials for not taking timely action.
Suman said she and her two daughters were returning from LNJP hospital after a routine check-up for Sunita.
“Had Metro officials acted on time, my daughter would not be missing today. I kept shouting and informed Metro staffers. Some people took me to a complaint room at the station. Staff members told me they have informed
Police said Sunita was unable to get out of the Metro at Jahangirpuri station, while her mother and sister deboarded
the other station but nothing happened for two hours. After that, they told me to go home and wait for my daughter to come back,” she alleged.
Suman said the family cannot afford mobile phones, which is why she couldn’t reach her husband for help.
After returning home, she informed her husband, Ram Saran, who was in Gurgaon, about the incident. “I went to the local police station. They told me to go Kashmere Gate Metro police station, from where my daughter had gone missing. By the time we reached, it was already 8 pm,” Saran said.
“I was told police were busy on election duty. On Monday, I was informed police have collected CCTV footage from Adarsh Nagar Metro station, which showed my daughter exiting. The train left Jahangirpuri at 1.30 pm and she was seen exiting the next station at 1.45 pm. Metro staff could have stopped her from leaving,” Saran alleged.
Saran recounted how a “dimaagi bukhaar” had affected his daughter when she was seven, changing her life permanently.
A native of Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao district, Saran has been living in Delhi for the last 30 years. “I have been spending all my time around Adarsh Nagar Metro station in search of my daughter. I have talked to almost 200 people since yesterday to get leads,” Saran said.
DCP (Metro) Jitendra Mani said, “Since the girl was seen going out of the Metro, local police will be asked to look for her. We have sent the case file to the local police.”