A 28-YEAR-OLD woman who went missing from her home in Islampur in Uttar Dinajpur district nearly eight years ago has been traced in Bangladesh and connected with her family — thanks to efforts made by some amateur radio operators from both sides of the border despite the frosty ties between the two countries in recent months.
It was on July 9, when an amateur radio operator, Muhammed Abdul Gani Fitu, saw a woman in ragged clothes at the Golabari railway station in Chapainawabganj district, Bangladesh.
He rescued her with the help of some local residents and gave her food. Later, the girl was able to give him the names of her parents and her home address in India.
“I was surprised that she is from India. She seems to have intellectual disabilities and could not tell me how she ended up in Bangladesh. She was unwell and we gave primary treatment to her. She said her name is Sarma Khatun (28) and we found that the village she mentioned is in India. I contacted some amatuer radio operators I know in India,” Gani told The Indian Express over phone from Bangladesh.
It was Ambarish Nag Biswas, a Ham radio operator and secretary of Amateur Radio Club, West Bengal, that Gani reached out to.
“I was surprised to get a call from him. He sent me pictures of the woman. Gani gave me the village name and asked one of our Ham radio operators, Sanjib Sarma, a resident of Islampur, to trace her home. He got in touch with a local panchayat member and finally we traced her parents on July 10,” said Biswas.
Her parents, Sukur Ali and Rohida Bibi, were traced to the Golabari village in Chopra subdivision in Uttar Dinajpur district.
Amateur radio operators then made the parents speak with Sarma thourgh a video call. “Her parents broke down, seeing their daughter,” said Nag Biswas.
“I thought my daughter was dead. She was missing for the past eight years. We had lost hope of finding her. When I saw her and spoke to her through the phone, I couldn’t believe it. Now all we want is for her to return. We have informed the local police with the help of a panchayat member,” said Rohida Bibi.
“I did my duty. We are all happy that she has been traced. Now we are trying to get her back from Bangladesh. She is from our village and we will extend all help to her family. We will all soon approach the district administration and police. Her family has approached the police,” said Mohammed Jalaluddin, a gram panchayat member.
Meanwhile, Gani, who also runs an NGO ‘Manobik Sahayat Sweccha Sevak Team’ near Golabari station at Chapainawabganj district for vagabonds and destitute has informed the local police there as well.
“We have informed the police and provided residential documents of the woman and her parents. She is under our care now, but soon she will be sent to a government home in Bangladesh. She will undergo tests for her apparent mental condition. After her parents appeal to their government, which will approach our government, she will be sent back through Bangladesh Border Guard to India. This is the process,” said Gani.
“We have written to the district administration of Uttar Dinajpur with all documents of the woman and details of her whereabouts in Bangladesh. Her parents too will write to the district administration,” said Biswas.
Amateur radio, often called HAM radio, is a hobby in which participants, called “hams”, use various types of radio communications equipment to communicate with other radio amateurs through airwaves for public services, recreation and self-training within and outside the country. After taking an examination from Wireless Planning and Coordination Wing, they get a licence from the department of telecom, under the ministry of information and communication technology.
HAM radio operators, including those from West Bengal Radio Club, have also worked during disasters such as the Aila cyclone and Super cyclone in Odisha, Nepal earthquake and the Bhuj earthquake and are present at the Gangasagar Mela every year.