Sri Vijaya Puram (Port Blair), April 16: As the saying goes, all’s well that ends well. A reported case of a missing child in Karmatang, Ward No. 10, caused anxious moments among local residents and the child’s family before it ended in relief, with Geetika, aged about one year and six months, found safe and unharmed.
According to information, little Geetika was returning home with her father through a dense forest stretch in the area. The route is a rough kaccha path with very poor mobile network connectivity, making both visibility and communication difficult.
While walking through the forest, the child is said to have fallen behind her father and stopped along the way. Because of the thick forest cover, even a person walking a short distance behind can quickly go out of sight. Unaware that Geetika was no longer with him, the father continued towards home.
When he reached home and realised that the child had not returned with him, panic spread among family members. The mother and other relatives immediately rushed to the police station and reported Geetika missing.
Meanwhile, the father retraced his steps into the forest and found Geetika at the same spot, safe and unharmed. He then brought her back home. However, because of the poor mobile network in the area, he was unable to immediately inform either the police or the family members who had gone out searching.
Later, when police arrived to investigate the complaint, they found the child safe at home with her father. The entire episode was subsequently confirmed to be a misunderstanding, ending what had briefly become a tense and worrying situation for the family and local residents.
