'I will never eat ragda pattice outside again,' says lost and found child

ldquoI am meeting my mother tomorrowrdquo was a sentence that sevenyearold Megha kept repeating like a chant all of Tuesday after she was told that she would be reunited with her family in Mumbai the next day So excited was little Megha that she slept only at 1 am yesterday said the Shaikhs who have been taking care of her since they found her crying near Dal Gate in Srinagar a fortnight agoAlso Read midday helps reunite missing 7yearold girl with her parentsMegha with her grandfather Rakesh Thakur and her saviour Abdul Shaikh in Srinagar yesterday morningAs the reunion with her family neared however Megha also grew a little fearful She was afraid that wandering off to have ragda pattice in June last year which led to her going missing might get her a beating from her mother The Shaikh family did everything possible to the last few hours of Megharsquos stay with them memorableFrom left Megharsquos mother grandmother and a neighbour after she reached Mumbai last evening PicSuresh KKA special chicken curry was cooked and her favourite sweet was made on Tuesday night ldquoMegha barely ate though She was too excited about returning to her parents in Mumbairdquo Abdul Rashid Shaikh told midday from SrinagarldquoWe planned to put Megha in a madrassa after November if her parents or relatives could not be traced till thenrdquo said Shaikh when he was asked if he intended to adopt Megha and send her to schoolmiddayrsquos report yesterdayHaving got up at 7 am yesterday Megha dressed up in a new tshirt and sweater salwar sandals and hair band all bought for her by Abdulrsquos wife Dilshad Megha asked for a special Kashmiri roti baqerkhani for breakfast and asked for some of it to be packed so that she could make her family in Mumbai taste it tooMeeting grandpaAround 8 am the Shaikhs and Megha were called to Nehru Park police station in Srinagar where her grandfather Rakesh Thakur and ACP Vasant Dhoble were waiting Megha recognised her dadaji and ran into his armsGrateful at having found his grandchild after looking for her in more than five states for over a year the overwhelmed grandfather was in tears and thanked the police and the foster family repeatedlyldquoHer grandfather was carrying a huge picture of her and we used it to confirm that he was who he claimed He also pointed out an injury mark on her head which was clearly visible in the photograph as wellrdquo said ShaikhHead Constable Gulam Ahmed attached to Nehru Park police station said ldquoWe recorded the statement of the family and handed the girl over to her grandfather A medical examination of the girl was conducted before we allowed them to return to MumbairdquoFlight missedThe excitement over the reunion and completing the legal formalities at Nehru Park police station delayed the medical visit because of which Megha her grandfather and ACP Dhoble missed the afternoon flight to Mumbai that they planned to takeACP Vasant Dhoble told midday ldquoWe completed the formalities at Nehru Park police station where the statements were recorded of the members of the family which had found her As per procedure we had to take the girl for medical examination to G B Pant Paediatric Hospital in Sonawar SrinagarBut since we got held up at the hospital we missed the 2 pm flight and had to board another one in the eveningrdquo Megha left Srinagar with R220 which she received as a gift from her new family on Bakri Eid The family also packed a bag for her which contained a new pair of clothes toys biscuits and chocolates