After six-month-long search the Hyderabad City Police have succeeded in uniting two Dubai-based daughters with their mother in the city.
Ayesha Rasheed and Fatima Rasheed from the United Arab Emirates had an emotional reunion with their 60-year-old mother Naziya Begum at the office of the South Zone Deputy Commissioner of Police Satyanarayana.
Two girls, who were separated from their mother at a tender age and had never seen her again, had come to Hyderabad six months ago to search for the mother.
After they sought the help from the DCP, the police launched a campaign to
locate the lady in the old city. Police also publicised her photo which the girls had brought from Dubai with them. After searching for a few days, the daughters returned to Dubai but were in touch with police.
“With the help of the feedback from the people of her area in the old city we could establish Naziya Begum’s identity but it took some time to find her whereabouts”, said Satyanrayana, who was happy with the reunion.
Ayesha Rasheed Eid Ubaid, the elder of the two daughters said that Naziya Begum was married to their father Basheer Eid Ubaid Rifq in 1981 in Hyderabad.
After spending a few years in Dubai, during which she gave birth to two daughters, Naziya was divorced by Rifaq and was sent back to India, keeping the two daughters with him.
Back in Hyderabad, Naziya was married off to a fruit-seller in Bidar town of Karnataka, 125 kms away from Hyderabad and she had two sons and a daughter from this marriage.
After police traced her in Bidar, the two daughters were informed. They again came to Hyderabad and met their mother for the first time after 28 years.
It was an emotional and touching moment when as soon as they saw the forlorn and aged woman, they broke down and embraced her.
Naziya Begum said that her memory of her daughters had faded and she only remembered that one of them had six fingers on one hand.
A beaming Fatima Rasheed said that they will now take care of their father and will try to undo the injustice done to her all these years. “We would love to take her to Dubai”, she said.
Apart from the Deputy Commissioner of Police V Satyanarayana, another senior officer Additional DCP K Babu Rao also played a
major role in tracing Naziya Begum with the help of the old photo provided by the daughters.
"We contacted the old Qazis who had performed marriages in early 1980s and also the marriage functions halls", said Babu Rao,
"The posters and pamphlets with the lady's photos were also spread in the old city which helped in tracing her", he said.
The first breakthrough came when Naziya's relatives were traced in Santosh Nagar area of old city and they helped the police in reaching Naziya in Bidar. Apart from elder daughter Fatima, the younger daughter Ayesha, her husband and her ten-year-old son were also present on the memorable occasion.
With tears rolling down her cheeks Ayesha said, "We were afraid that we will never be able to see our mother in this life time. But we are grateful to Allah that he brought us together. We are thankful to the police officials and all others who made it possible".