INDORE: Geeta, a speech and hearing impaired woman who garnered national attention when she returned to India from Pakistan in 2015, is seeking a civil service job after clearing her Class 8 first class examination.
Geeta, 33, secured special distinction in social science and Sanskrit with 411 marks out of 600 in the class eight examinations conducted by the Madhya Pradesh State Board of Open School Education, officials said on Wednesday.
Anand Service Society, an Indore-based non-governmental organisation, is trying to help Geeta, who has returned from the neighbouring country, reintegrate into mainstream society.
“Geeta is extremely excited about her exam results and is looking forward to the future with hope,” Gyanendra Purohit, executive director of the NGO and a sign language expert, told PTI on Wednesday.
According to Purohit, during the video call, Gita used sign language to convey her desire to continue her studies apart from working in the civil services.
“The minimum educational qualification required for recruitment to Class IV employees in central and state governments is grade eight completion. Geeta is now eligible to apply for government jobs under this category,” he said.
Purohit said Geeta’s real name was Radha and she currently lives with her mother Meena Pandare in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district of Maharashtra.
He said Geeta’s family is poor and she wants to get a job to become financially independent. “According to her, she doesn’t want to get married now,” Purohit said.
Geeta is estimated to be 33 years old. She crossed into Pakistan about 23 years ago after accidentally boarding a train as a child. Officials said she was found sitting alone in the Samjhauta Express at Lahore railway station by Pakistan Rangers.
Bilquis Edhi of the Pakistani social organisation Edhi Foundation adopted the hearing and speech impaired girl, who lives in Karachi.
It was only through special efforts by the late External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj that Geeta was able to return to India on October 26, 2015. The next day, she was sent to an NGO housing complex in Indore, where she has been living since 2021 when she found her family in Maharashtra.
Published July 24, 2024 10:10 IST
