In the women’s section of Nagpur Central Prison lived a woman from Assam who had spent nine long years behind bars. Convicted in connection with her husband’s death, she had lost all contact with her family. Her children were small when she was imprisoned, and over time, every phone number and address she remembered had vanished into silence.
With the help of the High Court Legal Services Committee, her case was re-examined. The charge was reduced from murder to culpable homicide not amounting to murder, and she was finally granted her freedom. But freedom didn’t mean home — not yet. She had nowhere to go, no family to reach, no one waiting outside the prison gates. The only thing she remembered was the name of her home district in Assam.
That’s when Prayas stepped in. Our team began the long process of tracing her roots. While efforts to locate her family continued, she was given temporary shelter at the Sakhi One Stop Centre. Letters were written, calls were made, and with the help of the Superintendent of Police in Assam and the local One Stop Centre, her family was finally found.
After nine years of separation, she heard her children’s voices again over the phone — voices that had grown but were still filled with love. Soon after, her brother and sister-in-law travelled to Nagpur to bring her home. When they finally met, tears replaced words. A mother was reunited with her family, and a family made whole once more.
Her story is a testament to the power of hope, persistence, and compassion — and to the belief that no one should be forgotten behind prison walls.