The Woodcutters Found A Girl In A Jungle What Followed Next Was Completely Unexpected!

 Forests are one of the mysterious creation of nature. You never know what you would find there. A bunch of woodcutters were working in the Katraniaghat forest of Uttar Pradesh in the northern part of India. The men were busy doing their work when they saw something very strange. It was an unusual sight! They remained rooted to their spot for a while as they could not understand what to do. Little did they know they were in for a big surprise that was going to change their life forever.

Strangest Sight To Behold

The woodcutters saw a bunch of monkeys cowling! Yeah, you are right, it was not strange at all, but what made their eye bulge out was their odd companion. The companion was no monkey or any other animal. Then what was it?  It was surprising that the monkeys instead of chasing it away had included into their family. The mystery was not that the woodcutters found her, the mystery was how she came in that jungle and when you will find out you would be left gasping for breath.

The Odd Company

The companion was none other than a girl who must be 10 to 12 years old. Instead of walking, she was crawling just like other monkeys. The woodcutters immediately reported the incident to the authorities. On hearing the unbelievable news, the police rushed to the sight only to get more dumbfounded. When they tried to rescue the girl something unexpected happened.

Another Jungle Book?

Does the story of this girl not remind you of Mowgli of The Jungle Book? Mowgli is the lead character in the book written by Rudyard Kipling. He is a feral kid who lives in isolation in a jungle with animals. Coincidentally, Mowgli also belonged to a jungle in India. Mowgli appeared for the first time in a short story authored by Kipling named In The Rukh in 1893. He is raised by a pack of Wolves. The character soon became a household name and we now have so many movies on it. We all considered it a part of our imagination until the time this “Mowgli girl” came to the scene who was living with a bunch of monkeys. Her story will amaze you!

What To Do?

In order to rescue the girl, police needed to get closer to her. So, they tried to approach her but astonishingly, got stopped by the monkeys along with the girl herself. Not only that, the monkeys screeched at the rescuers to protect the girl from them. They also surrounded the girl so that no one could go closer. The monkeys even attacked an officer when the girl screamed at him. It was completely an unexpected situation for the officers. It seemed the girl did not need to be rescued in the first place.

Not An  Easy Feat

However, after hours of efforts, the police finally managed to take the girl away from monkeys. They took the girl to their vehicle and sped away. And the monkeys kept chasing them as if the police had taken one of their children away. A local police officer commented, “When they tried to rescue the girl, they were chased away by the monkeys.” Though the girl was rescued, a big question was still looming over the head of the officers, how she got into the jungle and where is her family? The answers to all these questions were more shocking than the current situation. Click on the next slide to know what was she doing in the jungle?

Medical Aid

The girl was taken to Bahraich District Hospital where she was given medical aid. It was indeed a difficult task for the doctor to bring the girl to the hospital as she was too frightened to cooperate. The doctors made a very surprising announcement after examining the girl. “Mowgli girl” was not able to speak and that is why she used to scream at people approaching him.

Family

It is difficult to believe that this little girl was living with monkeys but that is what the witnesses said. And apparently, she had adopted many of their traits that were going to pose big problems to doctors and police officers. If we go by the reports of The Independent, the girl was found naked and “very comfortable in the company of monkeys.”

Rescue Attempt

Surprisingly, the girl, unlike normal human beings, was using both her hands and legs to walk. And instead of uttering words she screeched at the people to convey her message. Nobody knows how long was the girl residing with the primates but there was one thing for sure that the girl had been living with monkeys for a very long time. She was extremely frail and had a very bad health. So weak that she could not walk properly. Along with having poor health she also had a dirty appearance. She was all mired in the dirt and was wearing no clothes when found.

Monkey-Like Behavior

As mentioned earlier the girl was having a lot of similarity to monkeys in terms of behavior. She was behaving just the way a monkey does in a scaring situation. If not for the physical structure, it would have been difficult for anyone to recognize her as a human child. Not just the girl could not speak, she was also unable to understand any language. Lack of proper communication made this case even more complicated. Dr. D.K. Singh, chief medical superintendent of Bahraich District Hospital explained “She behaves like an ape and screams loudly if doctors try to reach out to her,” he said. He then added, “The way she moved, even her eating habits, was like that of an animal.”

Unusual Way of Moving Around

It was a very complicated case for doctors. Firstly, the girl was not cooperating with the doctors, secondly, there was no proper way of communication to establish trust due to lack of a common language and thirdly, she was considering herself a primate. Expectedly, in order to dodge people, she was crawling on her elbows and knees.    

Eating With Mouth

Feeding the child was not easy either. Whenever someone would try to feed her, she would throw the food on the floor. And would eat it in the weirdest way. It was though clear from her appearance that she was extremely hungry and weak, she still was fighting hard with her rescuers.

Eating off the Floor

The strangest thing about the girl’s eating habit was that she sometimes used to eat from her mouth without using her hand. Just like animals do. D.K. Singh said, “The way she moved, even her eating habits were like that of an animal.”  Singh said “The initial two days were difficult and she drank and ate on the floor.”

Hard Time

Doctors had a hard time treating the girl! They had to start from teaching her basic human etiquettes. So first, they had to make her believe that she is a human, not a primate. The only way to do so was by gaining her confidence. Mind you, she hated human presence around her, let alone interact. Singh mentioned to the New Indian Express “She behaves like an ape and screams loudly if doctors try to reach out to her.” Now, how the doctors were going to tackle this big problem?

More Ape-Like Behavior

The unfathomable behavior of the girl was trouble for everyone. Another doctor said that the language barrier had risen as a big hurdle in communicating with the girl. Neither the girl was understanding what the people were saying nor the doctors were understanding what she meant by her screams. However, the girl continued to make facial expressions and ape-like screeches. 

Heart Breaking Revelation

Though it was difficult, the doctors managed to examine the child physically and mentally and it turned out that the child was disabled both physically and mentally. She also had low blood pressure, lacked required hemoglobin and was hot with fever. Not just that, she also had worms in her stomach. The disclosure of her ailments fanned several speculations. And the one that seemed the most possible was equally disheartening. “

Why In Jungle?

People began to presume that due to her mental and physical disabilities, her family must have abandoned her in the forest. And the fact of her being a girl child would have played a big part in the plan of throwing her in the woods. The district chief forestry officer presumed “I think the family members of this girl had been aware that she is not able to speak, and they may have abandoned her near the forest road.”  Imagine, the little girl, being all alone in the jungle that has many dangerous animals such as lion, wolf and many more. Everyone who heard her story had only one question, how did she withstand that imperiled forest for so many days?

A Breakthrough

The medical aid was a great help for the child. Soon after receiving the aid she started using her pair of legs only to walk and started eating with the help of her hand. Singh said, “She is still not able to speak, but understands whatever you tell her and even smiles.” While there was a group of people who thought she was abandoned by her parents, there was another group who believed that she was residing in the jungle from the day she was born. Isn’t it interesting? Notwithstanding the rumors, the police began to review all the missing complaints from past to identify her.

Really? A Mowgli Girl?

Observing her for few days, the officers also refuted the claim that the girl was living in the forest since birth. Because had she been living in the forest for such a long time it is impossible that no CCTV captured her. Another question that comes to the mind is that being a child how she managed to dodge the sight of officers constantly on patrol.

Search for Her Family

Despite constant efforts by police, the unnamed girl could not be identified. So the officers named her Ehsas. Eventually, the police had to resort to the media in order to reach out to her parents. They placed advertisements in the newspapers with her picture. Whereas on one hand, the police were exploring all the avenues to identify her, on the other hand, they were also making plans on putting up the girl at the right place till someone comes forward to claim her. She was sent to juveniles.

Sign Of Improvements

Dr. Suresh Singh Dhapola, the founder, and president of special charity hospital where Ehsas was residing explained: “The girl has started showing signs of improvement but since she doesn’t communicate, it is difficult to understand her. The initial two days were difficult and she drank and ate on the floor, but she’s improving. Unfortunately, she was not given proper care earlier.” Not after many days in  April 2017, someone came forward only to stir the pot once again.

Tricky Case

The police officers were calling it a tricky case and had not much hope of finding the girl’s family. There was another doubt if the girl had been abandoned by the family then why would they come now to take their girl back with them? Their all doubts got cleared when a couple stepped forward to claim the girl as their child. 

Found?

The family residing in Jaunpur, in Uttar Pradesh, had lost all the hopes and it was then when the couple read news about the unidentified girl found in the forests of Bahraich which is 260 kilometers away from their residence. The picture of the girl had a striking resemblance to their missing daughter. And they headed straight towards the place where the girl was residing.

The Parents

“She’s my daughter. She went missing last year and we did everything to find her.” said Ramzan. Ramzan and Nazma Shah the pair claimed the girl to be their lost daughter. They also narrated the incident of how they lost their daughter Alizah. According to them, they were buying medicines in a crowded market when Alizah wandered away from their sight. They tried to find her but failed. After 24 hours of Alizah’s disappearance, they headed to the Mungra Badshahpur police station to lodge a missing complaint. But unfortunately, instead of receiving assurance from the police they experienced something really shocking.

Cold Hearted Treatment

They had gone to the police with a hope but returned disheartened and disappointed. They alleged that the policemen demanded a kickback from them to help them find their daughter. The father of seven children said the officers “even demanded money in exchange for help.” Naturally, it came as another blow for the poverty-stricken couple who had the daily earning of Rs150 (£2) a day and was already grappling with the trauma of losing their daughter. By now, they had realized that the law enforcers were not going to help them. Instead of cowing done in front of the situation they decided to fight back and came up with a perfect idea. 

Finding Elizah

The distressed father of Alizah strained every nerve to get his daughter back. He put up missing posters of her in every nook and cranny of the town. Unfortunately, he could not get any help from the posters. The failed attempts to find his daughter had started overpowering him and his wife and they began to think that they would never be able to get their daughter back. The couple opened up “We abandoned all hope. We eventually believed she was dead or picked up by someone, or traffickers. We were devastated. My wife did not eat or sleep for several weeks but eventually, we had to carry on with our lives.” Hope is what keeps you alive and when you are stripped of that you began to die internally, that is what happened to them. 

Indescribable Feeling

Shah said “The joy of knowing she’s alive cannot be expressed in words. I feel so blessed to know we could get her back.” Ramzan also axed doctor’s report about the mental health of Ehsas by saying  “She’s not mentally stable. Apparently, the parents were more than excited to meet their alleged daughter it was to see how Ehsas was going to react to that.

Is She The One?

Finally, they perhaps had found their lost daughter! Meeting their alleged daughter was a very emotional moment for both of them. “When I saw her, I had tears in my eyes. She kept staring at me. She stared for two hours,” he said. “But this is how she was. It was a normal reaction for her,” Shah described.

Shifting

Ehsas got shifted to a special unit for disabled children. The place is more comfortable for her and is being sincerely taken care of. A hospital spokesman said that “she did not respond to seeing him.” It was uncanny that the girl could not recognize her parents or perhaps they were not her parents at all. The reason was soon going to be unraveled.

Doubts Cropping Up

Readers do make note of the fact that the officers were doubtful of Shas ” claim. SS Dhapola explained “A man named Bhullar and his wife from Jaunpur claimed Ehsaas was their daughter. But when I asked them to tell me something about her or any birthmark they failed.” They had claimed that their daughter had a mark on her knee but Ehsas had no mark on her knee. The president went on to say “There is actually a birthmark on her neck and is visible but they did not mention it. As I was unable to decide I sent them to CWC, In any case, we cannot hand over the child unless the CWC decides so. They need to fulfill the procedure there only.”

DNA

Though the pair is very confident about Ehsas being their daughter Elizah, they still would have to undergo DNA test in order to confirm their claims. Till then the girl was going to stay in the special home allotted to her. “Until then, she will stay with us and we will continue to treat her for her condition,” said Dr. Dhapola. 

Help From Past

Ramzan also revealed “She used to always climb trees and buildings and jump off but how did she cope in the forest for so long? She shared a lovely bond with her siblings and they want to play with her again. Her mom is eagerly waiting to get her back.” If you think that we have reached the end of this case then let me tell you it is far from that. The case was getting more confusing with the entry of the twist explained in the next slide.

Here Comes Another Claimant

Whereas the Shas claims were yet to be confirmed, another couple came out and claimed that the girl is their daughter. The couple from Lakhimpur Kheri district of Uttar Pradesh said that the “Mowgli girl” is their Lakshmi. In order to gain right on the girl Makhana Devi and her husband Ram Adhaar, have submitted an application in the Singahi police station. According to them, their daughter had gone missing on 25 November 2012. They are also ready to undergo DNA test. They too were very confident about their relationship with the girl but still, there was one thing that made police doubtful about their claims!

Parents, Really?

For some unknown reason, the couple had not filed any missing complaint about their daughter. When they heard about the Mowgli girl they rushed to the station officer of Singahi police station and requested him to help them gain their girl child’s custody. But the station officer advised them to contact the Bahraich police as they had not filed any missing complaint about the child.  Singh said, “We have received an application from Makhana Devi and her husband claiming that the girl is their daughter. We have advised them to contact Bahraich police where her case has been registered. Had there been a missing complaint in any police station of Kheri district, we would have been able to tackle the case. It is now under the Bahraich police’s jurisdiction.” Though the test is still pending the “Mowgli girl” is recuperating rapidly. Check the next slide to know how she looks now.

Mowgli Girl Now

Now, Ehsas has changed a lot. She is no more a screeching girl. She says ‘Dana’ when she wants food and “Na” when she has to say no. She is not violent anymore although still a bit reserved. Dhopla says “she has observed these things and is imitating them. This has assured me that she is not mentally challenged but has just forgotten what it was like to live with humans. It might be coming back to her.” According to Isha Srivastava, caregiver of Ehsas says “She may have missed human touch so she constantly strokes her arms and legs. She screams to show her disapproval and crawls like a baby when she is tired. She is averse to being touched by strangers.”

Well, it is to see who are the parents of Ehsas, we really hope she gets well soon and lives a normal life that she deserves.