School education department launches initiative to locate parents of abandoned children

In a bid to reunite two abandoned children with their family, the School Education Department of Punjab has launched a state-wide initiative to trace their parents. This comes after the Department of Social Security and Women and Children Development raised the matter, urging for immediate action.

The children — Shankar (4) and Krishna (8) — were discovered abandoned at Bathinda Railway Station on August 11, 2024. Following their rescue, they were placed in a children’s home in Bathinda. During counselling sessions, Krishna revealed her parents’ names as Vishnu and Poonam, and also mentioned an elder sister named Jyoti.

Although Krishna identified herself as a student of a government school in Punjab, she could not recall its name or location. This prompted the Social Security Department to seek assistance from the School Education Department to scrutinise records of all government schools in the state for any matching enrolments.

In response, the School Education Department issued directives to all elementary and high schools across Punjab on Monday. Along with sharing photographs of the children, schools have been asked to check their enrolment records for any student named Krishna with parents named Vishnu and Poonam.

Officials are hopeful that the collaboration between departments and schools will help trace the children’s family and reunite them soon. The authorities have urged anyone with information regarding the children or their family to contact the nearest school or police station.