At Area No. 4, not too far away from the towering Gilbert Hill in Andheri West, there’s a flurry of activity. Residents are seen crowding outside a shanty at the mouth of the gully, which is also home to a masjid, piqued by the developments that have taken place in the last 24 hours.

Sixteen-year-old Pooja Gaud, who we are here to meet, is dressed in a sky blue salwaar kameez, and seated on the only bed in the tiny room, right below the frame of Lord Hanuman. Her face doesn’t reveal any emotion—that she has covered herself partially with a dupatta, makes it all the more difficult for us to comprehend how she is feeling. That is until she starts speaking. “I feel as if I had a nightmare and now, I have finally woken up and found my mother. I know these years I spent away from my family will never return. But I just want to forget everything and start afresh,” she tells us.