NEW DELHI – Twenty men, including a priest and a writer have responded to aFacebook matrimonial advertisement seeking a match for Geeta, thehearing-and-speech impaired girl who returned from Pakistan afteraccidentally landing in that country when she was a child.
A social activist in Indore, who is actively searching for Geeta’slong-lost parents, put up a post on Facebook nine days ago seeking amarriage proposals for her.
Gyanendra Purohit, the activist, said today that so far twenty men haveresponded with interest, saying they would like to marry her. They havesent their bio-data as well. Of them, 12 persons are people withdisabilities, while the rest do not have any disability, the activist said.
One of them is a temple priest while another says he is a writer, he said.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj — who was instrumental in bringingGeeta back to India — had asked Gyanendra Purohit to look for a match forGeeta, Mr Purohit claimed, according to news agency PTI.
He put up a post on the Facebook page ‘Reunite Geeta’, which was originallycreated on April 10 to search for Geeta’s parents.
The advertisement had made it clear that it is Geeta who will ultimatelydecide on the proposals, and the Union government would take further stepsaccordingly.
Geeta is currently staying in a facility run by Muk-Badhir Sangathan, anNGO in Indore. The Madhya Pradesh Social Justice Department is hercaretaker.
Geeta was found alone on board the ‘Samjhauta Express’ at Lahore when shewas seven or eight years old. It is surmised that she accidentally boardedthe train somewhere in India.
Karachi-based Edhi Foundation took care of her while she lived in Pakistan.
So far more than ten couples from different parts of India have claimedthat Geeta is their long-lost daughter, but none of them could establishthe claim.