Nagpur: Just before Navratri , a family in Chhattisgarh got its biggest reason to celebrate as a woman, missing for nearly two years, returned home after a 10-month search by Nagpur’s Regional Mental Hospital staff.
The reunion, ahead of World Mental Health Day on October 10, highlighted how sustained care, compassion and coordination between healthcare workers and police can restore hope and bring families together. The son recalled that his father had died when he was just 14 and the family had feared that his mother was dead too. The 45-year-old woman was admitted to the Regional Mental Hospital on Jan 2, following an order from the chief judicial magistrate of Bhandara.
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“You saved us from becoming orphans,” the son told the hospital staff. Medical superintendent Dr Amrish Mohbe said mental healthcare went beyond medicines and included reconnecting patients with their families and society. The emotional reunion this week saw her son break down in tears, thanking the hospital team. She had been brought by police for treatment but had no identity documents and was unable to clearly state her name or address. The woman also gave different names for herself, while language difficulties made tracing her family even harder. Psychiatric treatment by doctors Pankaj Bagde and Krunali Uke gradually improved her mental health. As the woman recovered, her longing to return home and meet her children grew stronger. Social service superintendent Kunda Katkhaye Bidkar spent months counselling the woman and following every clue she provided. The hospital contacted around nine police stations across Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh but the search initially yielded no results. A breakthrough came when the woman mentioned her daughter’s marriage and relatives in Korba district. Bidkar sought help from a coordinator at Mother Teresa Ashram in Raipur and contacted Korba police. Inspector Narhari Patel of Korba police pursued the lead and contacted his counterpart at Ratanpur police station in Jabalpur. Within just three hours, the woman’s son was traced, bringing months of painstaking efforts to a successful end. The mother and son first saw each other over a video call. Both became emotional, and within two days, her son and son-in-law reached the hospital to take her home. Hospital staff gave the woman clothes and accessories as farewell gifts. Download the TOI App.