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For two families, this IAS officer is real Bajrangi Bhaijaan

The huge geographical and cultural difference led to Anita losing touch with her family. After some years, she could hardly remember the village where she was born and brought up.

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IAS officer Preeti Goyal
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Since she was a child, Preeti Goyal was fascinated by her neighbour Anita Devi's tales about her family in a faraway land. The fact that Anita was not even her original name and that she had lost touch with her family decades ago touched a tender chord in Preeti's heart. So much so that years later, when Preeti became an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, she did not forget Anita and her long-lost family. And, in fact, reunited them after a gap of half a century, a deed that has earned Preeti the moniker of 'female Bajrangi Bhaijaan'.

Anita, 65, who belonged to the Angami tribe in Nagaland, was named Nikhetou Angami by her parents. The family hailed from Dimapur at Kohima in Nagaland, where a young Army officer from Punjab, Vakil Chand, was also posted. The two met in 1967, fell in love, and got married. Anita was only 14 at the time.

The very next year, the couple moved to the Lehragaga village of Sangrur in Punjab. The huge geographical and cultural difference led to Anita losing touch with her family. After some years, she could hardly remember the village where she was born and brought up.

After Chand retired from the Army, the couple started a small garments' business. Then he passed away and Anita found herself pining for the family that she had left behind all those years ago. But, she could not remember anything except her father's name and the fact that there was a cinema hall very close to her house. Her two sons also tried their best but to no avail.

Preeti, who became an IAS officer in 2013, could not get the tale out of her mind. Currently posted as SDO at Arambagh in Hooghly district, she had been trying to find a way to help Anita since 2015, sources close to her said.

"Preeti used all her resources and her entire network to find Anita's family. The first breakthrough came about a month ago, when a batch mate of hers in Nagaland located the Angami tribe through a police inspector. She immediately mobilised people, located the family, and arranged for a phone call and then a video call. After both sides were satisfied, Anita set off from Punjab," Kamini Singla, Anita's granddaughter told DNA over the phone from Punjab.

She added: "I went with her to Nagaland with my brother. The reunion was right out of a movie. Everyone in the family was in tears. Her parents had passed away but her siblings and their family members welcomed her with open arms. We spent some days there in September and then returned to Punjab. The best thing is that now she is in touch with her family and we all owe it to Preeti Goyal, who took so much trouble for her sake. For my grandmother, she is the Bajrangi Bhaijaan in real life."

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