Kolkata, 02 July (H.S.) : Amateur radio operators are struggling to reunite a mentally ill woman from West Bengal with her family after tracing her to Mumbai, as her husband and in-laws have allegedly refused to take her back despite years of efforts.

According to the West Bengal Radio Club (WBRC), the woman, a mother of a 20-year-old son and a 16-year-old daughter, reportedly developed mental health issues following prolonged alleged abuse at her matrimonial home. As her condition deteriorated, she repeatedly wandered away from home.

Ambarish Nag Biswas, Secretary of the WBRC, said the woman was first traced in Gujarat around six years ago and was brought back to her matrimonial home in Gangarampur, Uluberia, in West Bengal's Howrah district. However, her husband and in-laws allegedly failed to arrange proper medical treatment, and she subsequently went missing again.

The WBRC, a network of amateur radio operators that supports government agencies during emergencies and helps reunite missing persons with their families, later became involved after the woman was identified in Mumbai.

According to the organisation, the woman was rescued by the Railway Protection Force (RPF) at Shivaji Nagar railway station in Pune after she was allegedly drugged by suspected human traffickers. Although the suspects escaped, the RPF rescued her, admitted her to a hospital, and following a court order, she was shifted to a shelter home for women in Mumbai, where she has remained for nearly a decade.

As the woman spoke Bengali, authorities at the shelter, along with the Mumbai Police, sought assistance from the WBRC to locate her family. The organisation successfully traced her relatives in West Bengal.

Biswas said the woman's daughter became emotional after seeing her mother's photographs and videos. However, her husband and other in-laws reportedly declined to bring her home, claiming they were uncertain about where she had been and what had happened to her during the years she remained missing.

The WBRC also contacted the woman's brother, a government employee, but he too was reportedly reluctant to take responsibility for her.

The organisation has now requested authorities in Mumbai to continue her medical treatment. WBRC officials said they would continue working to ensure that, once her condition improves, she is able to exercise her legal and marital rights.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh