Mom dead in Kumbh fire, Bihar girl loses dad in Sagar Mela but radio operators reunite duo
Times of India | 17 January 2026
Kolkata: A 10-year-old girl, who lost her mother in the fire at Mahakumbh in Prayagraj last year, would have lost her father at the Gangasagar Mela on Thursday, had it not been for cops and amateur radio operators. The girl, a resident of Katoriya village in Banka district in Bihar, was reunited with her father after nearly a 10-hour search at the mela ground by the radio operators and volunteers.
Anjana Kumari Pandey came to the Sagar Mela with her father, Uday Pandey. A priest by profession, Uday moved around to attend religious events. Last year, he visited the Mahakumbh at Prayagraj with his wife, Mira Devi, and daughter, Anjana. The family got trapped inside the Kapi Manas Mandal camp when a massive fire broke out. While the father and daughter escaped, Pandey lost his wife when everyone tried to rush out.
On Thursday morning, Cops on duty spotted 10-year-old Anjana crying near the mega control room at the mela ground. They informed amateur radio operators, who rushed to the spot. "The girl could only tell us that she lost her father and a phone number. We traced the number to track her residence in Banka," said Ambarish Nag Biswas of the Radio Club.
Volunteers and radio operators searched for hours and traced that the girl was staying at a hut in Shelter 75 at the mela ground, and locals informed them that her father was admitted to a hospital after falling ill. The radio operators took Anjana to her father at the hospital, and she instantly recognised him. "We were lucky to trace her father. Else, the girl could have lost both her parents at Mahakumbh and Gangasagar," said Nag Biswas.
In another incident, a 61-year-old woman from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, who went missing while visiting Gangasagar with her family for a holy dip, was safely reunited with her relatives within 24 hours. According to Baranagar Police, the woman, identified as Jagpatti Devi, was found wandering aimlessly along the railway tracks near Niranjan Sen Nagar under Baranagar Police Station on Thursday night.