Maharashtra woman speaks to family for the first time in 2.5 years after her ashram workers use ChatGPT to find her hometown; husband travels to bring her home after the call

A 45-year-old woman who wandered away from her home in Maharashtra in a mentally distressed condition has reunited with her family after two-and-a-half years. Social workers at an ashram in Sindhudurg used Google Search and ChatGPT to trace her hometown in Parbhani district, contact her relatives and arrange a reunion with her husband.

Julekha Mukheed Shaikh had been staying at Sanvita Ashram in Pandur, Sindhudurg, since April 3, 2024. Her husband, Mukheed Shaikh, travelled to the ashram on November 9 and took her home after she spoke to her family over the phone following their long separation, according to an official release.

How Julekha reached the ashram

Shaikh was admitted to Sanvita Ashram after she wandered away from home in a mentally distressed condition.


Her admission followed an order issued by a Metropolitan Magistrate Court in Kurla, Mumbai, on April 3, 2024. The order came at the request of Colaba police and a probation officer at the Government Women's Beggars' Home in Chembur.

She subsequently stayed at the ashram in Pandur, where efforts were made to establish her identity and locate her family.

How Google Search and ChatGPT helped trace her family

The search gathered pace under Kisan Choure, trustee of Jeevan Aanand Sanstha, and his team.

The social workers held regular conversations with Shaikh to collect clues about her background and hometown. They then used digital tools, including Google Search and ChatGPT, to identify her native place in Parbhani district.

Once they traced her hometown, the team contacted her relatives with assistance from the Nirbhaya police squad in Parbhani, the official release said.

The process eventually helped establish communication between Shaikh and her family after two-and-a-half years apart.

Husband travels to Sindhudurg to bring her home

Following the phone conversation with her family, Shaikh's husband travelled to Sanvita Ashram on November 9.

Mukheed Shaikh then escorted his wife home to Parbhani district, bringing their two-and-a-half-year separation to an end.

Choure said the organisation combined patient conversations with digital tools to trace her roots and coordinate with the Nirbhaya police squad.

"By combining patient interaction with digital tools like Google Search and ChatGPT, we were able to trace her roots and coordinate effectively with the Nirbhaya Police Squad in Parbhani to reunite her with her grieving family," he said.

The reunion was announced in an official release on November 14, according to PTI.



(with PTI inputs)