A Heart-Wrenching Case in Mumbai Highlights the Life-Changing Potential of QR Code Lockets for Missing People

She was frail, disoriented, and could remember only her name — Godavari Raut — and that she was lost.

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This is the story of a woman in her 70s who was separated from her family 12 years ago on the busy streets of Mumbai.

It was meant to be like any other casual visit to the city for a family from Parbhani district in Maharashtra, a village nearly 200 kilometres away. Instead, it turned into a nightmare when Godavari got separated from her sons.

The sons made countless visits to police stations and filed complaints to trace their missing mother. But as the years passed, hope slowly faded, and they resigned themselves to the possibility that she might never return home.

That changed on the night of 13 January 2026.

During a routine patrol at JJ Junction in Byculla, Mumbai Police spotted Godavari. Her condition immediately drew attention. A police team, including a woman constable, took her into protective custody. She was cleaned up, fed, and given a medical examination before being sent to an NGO for counselling.

With no documents and little memory to rely on, the NGO conducted several counselling sessions. After a few days, Godavari recalled just one more word — Selu, a village in Parbhani district.

Officials quickly contacted the Selu police station, where they found a missing person complaint that had been filed 12 years earlier. The details matched.

What followed was a rare and joyful ending — a mother reunited with her sons after more than a decade of being lost in a vast metropolitan city.

Here’s how technology can help trace missing loved ones

Godavari’s ordeal shows how difficult it can be to identify and trace missing individuals, especially when they lose memory or lack documentation. This is where technology-based identification tools can make a difference.

One notable example is Project Chetna, developed by Mumbai-based innovator Akshay Ridlan. He created QR code-enabled pendants that store critical information about the wearer — including name, address, emergency contacts and medical notes. Anyone with a smartphone can scan the QR code to immediately access this data. 

While preparing for the UPSC examination in 2019, Akshay came across several reports on missing persons. One case that deeply affected him involved a 17-year-old autistic boy who went missing after being mistakenly put on a train.

Since launching Project Chetna in September 2023, QR pendants have been used to help trace missing children and adults, including persons with dementia, Alzheimer’s or autism, reuniting them with their families more quickly. Each pendant stores essential information — personal details, emergency contacts, medical conditions, and home address.

Anyone with a smartphone can scan the QR code to instantly access this information, helping reunite lost individuals with their families more quickly.

How it works

• Families register the individual’s details on the Project Chetna website.

• When the QR code is scanned, the person scanning it can see information needed to contact family members or caregivers.

• Akshay is also developing technology that will alert family members when the code is scanned from a new location.

Each pendant costs around Rs 200 to make. Akshay has already distributed many of these free of cost to families in need. The goal is simple but powerful — to speed up reunifications and reduce the emotional trauma experienced by families of missing persons.

Why this matters

Godavari’s story highlights the human cost of missing person cases — years of separation, uncertainty and emotional trauma. At the same time, innovations such as QR code pendants are showing how simple, scalable technology could support families in reconnecting with lost loved ones much sooner.

Both experiences show that compassion, persistence and creativity can restore lives — whether through patient policing or thoughtful tech design.

Sources

‘Mother reunited with sons after 12 years of wandering Mumbai streets’: by Anish Patil, Published on 22 January 2026