She Was Kidnapped 9 Years Ago. A Missing Poster Reunited Her With Family
NDTV
Henry D'Souza, who has been arrested, has told police that he kidnapped Pooja as he and his wife did not have children then.
The digital copy of a missing poster from 2013 has helped a teenaged girl reunite with her family after nine long years.
On the morning of January 22, 2013, Pooja, then 7-year-old, went to school with her brother in Mumbai's Adheri neighbourhood. There, Henry Joseph D'Souza allegedly offered to treat her with ice-cream and abducted her. D'Souza, who has now been arrested, has told police that he kidnapped Pooja as he and his wife did not have children then.
Henry sent Pooja to a hostel in Karnataka soon after to ensure that she is not recognised by anyone. Her name was changed to Annie D'Souza. Later, when the couple had a child of their own, they brought her back. It is learnt that they would make her do all household chores and did not treat her well.
The girl, now 16, did not remember much about her family members, who stayed barely a few hundred metres away. But when Henry, in a drunken state, told her that she is not his daughter, she started looking for clues in the past.