After 36 years, Nagpur woman believed dead comes back home
The woman left her home in 1989 due to cruelty by her in laws and husband.
A 58-year-old woman in Nagpur reportedly returned home after being presumed dead for 36 years. The woman who was pregnant at the time left home in 1989 and reunited with her family after three decades. She left her home, unable to cope with her husband’s alcoholism and her mother-in-law’s cruelty.
The incident is from Jaitala, Nagpur, and as per a report by Times of India, the woman left behind her husband, son and a daughter. The woman's husband died six years ago and son also lost his life due to an illness two years ago. The daughter, who was left behind, is now 38 years old.
Mourned for 36 years, first trace found in 2018
For 36 years, her family mourned her, presuming that she had died. In 2018, authorities traced her to a shelter home in North 24 Parganas, West Bengal. During this time, she gave birth to a daughter, who spoke Bengali growing up in a shelter home in the region.
In 2024, the woman and her daughter were transferred to Kasturba Women’s home in Mumbai, where the staff suspected that she was from Nagpur.
In 2025, she arrived at the Government Priyadarshini Women’s Home in Nagpur, where, due to her mental health conditions, she was admitted to the Regional Mental Hospital.
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Her social services superintendent, Kunda Bidkar, and psychiatrist, Dr Pankaj Bagde, took her cause. One time, she vaguely recalled Butibori, a place where her father served as postmaster. Bidkar began tracking the woman’s father as he went through the post office records.
After three days, he found a reference to Jaitala, where her in-laws lived. With the help of the police, they finally traced the woman’s family, after which an emotional reunion followed.
