Bela Behera, an elderly woman from Ganjam, Odisha, is set to return home after more than 10 years — and, for the first time in over a decade, may witness the Puri Rath Yatra she once attended every year. Behera, now in her late 70s, had been living at a government-run old-age home in Murshidabad, West Bengal, after going missing while stepping out to buy flowers ahead of the festival more than ten years ago.

How Bela Went Missing

According to her family, Bela Behera left her home in Ganjam on the day of the Rath Yatra to purchase flowers — a ritual she had maintained for years. A flower seller by trade, she had raised her three sons through this work and continued the practice even after her sons became established and she began living with the youngest, surrounded by grandchildren.

How she ended up in Murshidabad district of West Bengal remains unclear. She was found on the street by local police, produced before a court, and subsequently placed in the Tokia Citizen Home, a government-run shelter for the elderly. Efforts by the police to trace her family at the time proved unsuccessful, partly because she spoke only Odia and was unable to provide a verifiable address.

A Decade of Separation

For over 10 years, Bela lived at the Tokia Citizen Home in Murshidabad while her family in Odisha continued to search for her. Her son Keshav, with whom she had been living before her disappearance, told those involved in the search that the family had stopped visiting Puri during the annual festival after she went missing. 'They would only pray to Lord Jagannath for the safe return of their mother,' said Ambarish Nag Biswas, secretary of the West Bengal Radio Club (WBRC).

The WBRC is a voluntary organisation of Amateur Radio Operators that has facilitated the reunion of hundreds of missing persons with their families. Recently, a court ordered fresh attempts to locate Bela's family, but official channels again fell short.

How the WBRC Traced Her Family

Arpita Lahiri, superintendent of the Tokia Citizen Home, reached out to the WBRC with details of Bela's case. The organisation's network in Ganjam district eventually succeeded in tracing her relatives. 'It took some doing, but our friends in the Ganjam district finally succeeded in tracing her family. We connected her to her son Keshav through a video call, and both of them broke down in tears,' Nag Biswas said.

Keshav is now travelling to Murshidabad to bring his mother back. Bela has expressed a strong wish to visit Puri this year for the Rath Yatra. 'With Lord Jagannath's blessings, we just pray that her wish comes true after so many years,' Nag Biswas added.

The Role of Amateur Radio Volunteers

The West Bengal Radio Club has emerged as a quiet but effective bridge for missing persons cases that official channels are unable to resolve. Its network spans multiple districts and states, enabling ground-level verification that formal police channels often cannot replicate. Bela Behera's case is among the more poignant in its recent record — a decade-long separation, a language barrier, and a singular wish to see the Rath Yatra once more.

If Keshav's journey proceeds without delay, Bela could be back in Odisha in time for this year's festival — a reunion that her family had long entrusted to the grace of Lord Jagannath.