New Delhi - A DNA test on a deaf and mute Indian woman who strayed into Pakistan about 12 years ago did not match her presumed long-lost family, the Indian government has announced.
Geeta, thought to be 23, had strayed across one of the world’s most militarised borders when she was a child.
She arrived back in New Delhi to great publicity in October after she apparently identified her family in photos.
“The Mahato family came forward to claim her as a family member... and Geeta thought they might be her parents,” External Affairs Ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup said late Thursday, according to the IANS news agency.
“A DNA test of the Mahatos was done, the report of which we handed over to the family last week. The DNA test was negative,” Swarup said.
Other families had also claimed Geeta, who would be shown photographs of them, Swarup was quoted as saying.
She was currently staying at a care centre in Indore and undergoing vocational training, he added.
DPA