Mother reunited with sons after 12 years of wandering Mumbai streets

Godavari Raut with her family

"A mother is closest to everyone's heart, and children are dearest to her. Seeing Godavari wander Mumbai alone for 12 years without her children deeply affected us," said Police Sub-Inspector Wahida Jamadar of JJ Marg police, describing the emotional case that led to the reunion of an elderly woman with her sons after more than a decade.

Godavari Raut had spent more than a decade wandering Mumbai's streets, alone and homeless, after getting separated from her family during a visit to the city. For her sons in Parbhani (located 200 km from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar), hope faded with time. For the police officers who found her, the sight of a mother surviving without her children was impossible to ignore.

The turning point came on January 13 during a routine drive against beggars and homeless persons near JJ Junction, Byculla. A frail woman in her seventies was found begging - disoriented, hungry, poorly dressed and unable to answer most questions. She could say only one thing: her name was Godavari, and she was lost.

Jt. CP Satyanarayan Choudhary (left) with JJ Marg police SI Wahida Jamadar. Pic/By Special Arrangement

Women police constable Rakhi Bhosale was among the first to approach her. Sensing the woman's distress, the team ensured she was cleaned up, fed and medically examined. The matter was then taken up under the supervision of Senior Inspector Rais Shaikh, with Sub-Inspector Wahida Jamadar leading the follow-up.

Jamadar later said the case struck an emotional chord. Godavari had survived alone in a city of millions, cut off from the very people she lived for - her children. The officers decided the case deserved more than routine paperwork.

Following legal formalities and a court order, she was shifted to a shelter home in Chembur for care and protection. With no documents and almost no memory, the trail seemed cold - until police reached out to Koshish, an NGO that works closely with homeless persons. During counselling sessions conducted jointly by the NGO workers and women police personnel, Godavari mentioned one word repeatedly: Selu. That clue proved decisive.

JJ Marg police coordinated with Selu police station in Parbhani district, which confirmed that a missing person complaint had been registered 12 years earlier for a woman matching Godavari's description. Old records were retrieved. Photographs were shared. When the images reached Parbhani, the reaction was immediate. Her three sons recognised her instantly. The youngest, Kishor Raut, rushed to Mumbai carrying a sari and food - things he had waited years to give his mother.

After completing all legal procedures, police formally handed Godavari over to her children. The reunion was quiet, tearful, and overwhelming. A mother held her sons again after 12 years. The sons, who had grown up believing their mother was gone forever, finally brought her home.

For the officers present, the moment was as emotional as it was fulfilling. What began as a routine drive ended as a reminder of why compassion matters as much as enforcement. In a city that often moves too fast to notice its most vulnerable, Godavari's journey back to her family stands as proof that patience, empathy and perseverance can still change lives - one reunion at a time.