Abandoned at birth, Sneha’s journey from Spain to Bhubaneswar to reunite with her mother

Sneha, a 21-year-old Spanish citizen, returns to Bhubaneswar to find her biological mother, Banalata Das, who abandoned her and her brother 20 years ago

Bhubaneswar: Sneha, a Spanish citizen, has returned to India in search of her biological mother, who had abandoned her and her brother 20 years ago.

However, 21-year-old Sneha is running out of time as she has to return to Spain on Monday for her educational commitments. The researcher in children’s education wanted to trace her roots and reached India with scanty information about her past.

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Her Spanish parents Gema Vidal and Juan Josh supported her in her quest and Gema accompanied Sneha to her home State. They had adopted Sneha and her brother Somu in 2010 from an orphanage in Bhubaneswar, where they were kept after their mother Banalata Das abandoned them in 2005.

“The purpose of my journey from Spain to Bhubaneswar is to find my biological parents, especially my mother. I want to find her and meet her. I am fully prepared for the journey even if it is difficult,” Sneha said. Asked if she would chide her biological mother for abandoning her, Sneha remained mum. She was only over a year old, and her brother was just a few months old at that time.

Accompanied by Gema, a yoga teacher in Zaragoza city of Spain, Sneha arrived in Bhubaneswar on December 19 last year and they have been staying in a hotel. Somu, however, could not come as he was busy with some work in Spain.

If they do not find Sneha’s biological mother by Monday, they will come back in March for a longer stay. “We have to return to Spain as Sneha has joined a training programme which should not be discontinued. If we do not get Banalata in the next 24 hours, we will come back to Bhubaneswar in March,” Gema said.

Banalata had abandoned Sneha and Somu at their rented house in Nayapally area in Bhubaneswar in 2005. Banalata’s husband Santosh, who worked as a cook in a private firm, had earlier abandoned his family, which comprised his wife, and four children, including Sneha and Somu.

Later, Banalata also left the rented house with another son and daughter, leaving behind Sneha and Somu. The house owner later informed the police and they were shifted to an orphanage.

In 2010, Sneha, then more than five years old, and Somu, around four years old, were legally adopted by the Spanish couple.

“Sneha is very responsible and educated. She is the joy of our house. She is our life,” Gema said. Gema had earlier revealed to Sneha and Somu about their roots in Odisha and that they were adopted.

“She is well educated and conducting research, so she decided to locate her biological mother and I accompanied her to this place,” Gema said.
During their frantic search in Bhubaneswar, Gema and Sneha came across a retired teacher of Rama Devi Women’s University, Sneha Sudha Mishra, who helped them find out the names of her parents.

“We found out about her parents’ names from the house owner in Nayapally and later the names were verified with the police and the orphanage,” Mishra said.

With the help of Mishra, Sneha and Gema met city Commissioner of Police Dev Datta Singh, who assigned the job of locating Banalata Das and Santosh Das to two police personnel Anjali Chhotray and Gangadhar Pradhan.

“We have found out that Banalata Das and Santosh are from Badamba-Narsinghpur area in Cuttack district. We have engaged police and panchayat functionaries to locate them,” Inspector Anjali Chhotray said.