Pooja, who was seven years old at the time, went missing on January 22, 2013. She claimed she was picked up from outside her school in Mumbai, Maharashtra, by a pair who enticed her with an ice cream.
Pooja Gaud, 16, is finally able to meet her mother again after nine years of her disappearance.
Pooja, who was seven years old at the time, went missing on January 22, 2013. She claimed she was picked up from outside her school in Mumbai, Maharashtra, by a pair who enticed her with an ice cream.
She was found on August 4 in what has been termed a "miraculous escape," BBC reports.
Her mother, Poonam Gaud, said she is overjoyed.
"I had given up hope of ever finding my daughter. But the gods have been kind to me," she said.
The young girl was allegedly kidnapped by Harry D'Souza and his wife, Soni D'Souza, because the couple did not have their own child. Mr. D'Souza has been arrested.
Pooja was last seen in a modest house in a suburban slum with her two brothers and parents.
She had departed for school with her elder brother on the day she went missing, but the two had a fight, and her brother proceeded into the school, leaving her behind since he was running late. That's when the duo allegedly kidnapped her and promised to buy her ice cream.
Pooja claimed that the pair transported her to Goa and subsequently Karnataka, both in western and southern India, and threatened to harm her if she cried or drew attention to herself.
She said she was allowed to attend school for a short while, but after the couple had a child of their own, she was pulled out of school and they all shifted to Mumbai. She alleged that she was physically abused by couple.
According to her, the abuse got worse after the baby was born.
"They would beat me with a belt, kick me, punch me. One time they beat me with a rolling pin so badly that my back began to bleed. I was also made to do chores at home and work in 12 to 24 hour-long jobs outside."
D'Souza's house was close to her family's, but she says she was unfamiliar with the roads, was always monitored, and didn't have any money or a phone, so she couldn't call for help or try to find her way home.
Pooja, on the other hand, managed to get her hands on the couple's phone while they were sleeping and put her name into YouTube. She discovered videos and posters describing her captivity, as well as phone numbers she could call for assistance.
"That's when I decided to seek help and escape," she says.
BBC reports that it took her seven months before she could muster enough courage to discuss it with Pramila Devendra, 35, a domestic help who worked at the same house where Pooja worked as a babysitter.
Ms Devendra immediately agreed to help her. One of the numbers on the missing poster connected them to Rafiq, a neighbour of Pooja's mother. The mother-daughter first spoke on a video call and then a meeting was arranged.
Her mother says she checked for a birthmark only she knew existed on her daughter and on finding it, she was overcome with emotion. "All my doubts were immediately gone. I knew I had found my daughter," she says.
Ms Devendra is happy to have played a part in this reunion. "Every mother should help a child coming to her for help. We might not be their biological mothers, but we are still mothers," she says.
Pooja, a few family members, and Ms Devendra proceeded to the police station after the meeting to file a complaint. "Everything I told the cops was true. I even gave them the location of my kidnappers”, she stated. As a result, the culprit was identified and apprehended.
According to Milind Kurde, senior inspector at Mumbai's DN Nagar police station, complaints have been filed against the accused persons for kidnapping, issuing threats, physical abuse, and violating child labour rules.
Pooja's return home has brought delight to everyone who knew her, not just her family. Neighbours who remember her from when she was a child have stopped by to greet her.
Meanwhile, her mother is attempting to make up for lost time with her daughter by cooking and combing her hair. They try to spend as much time as they can together, but life is difficult for them right now.
Pooja's father, the family's lone earner, died of cancer four months ago. As a result, her mother took up his work selling snacks at a train station to support herself and her three children. However, her wages are pitiful, and she is fighting to make ends meet.
"Now I also have legal expenses. Our condition is such that if I miss a day's work, we won't have money for food the next day."
Pooja is still traumatised. She gets nightmares and feels sad that she'll never get to see her father again. For her safety, she spends most of her time at home or is accompanied by a family member when she goes out.
"I want to help my mother financially but I'm not allowed to. I also want to study," she said.
Regardless of these problems, her mother said she couldn't be happier. "Work is exhausting, but every time I see Pooja, I find my strength again. I'm just so happy she's back," she said.