For much of India, she was known simply as the 'Mowgli girl' – a child discovered alone near a forest, seemingly detached from the world around her. But behind that label was a young girl named Ehsaas, whose life became a remarkable story of rescue, care and rehabilitation.
Nearly nine years after she was found wandering in the forests of Uttar Pradesh's Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary, Ehsaas died at the age of 18 in Lucknow. Officials said she passed away at Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences (RMLIMS) on June 15.
According to the post-mortem report, the cause of death was septicaemia resulting from lung disease.
Ehsaas first came into the spotlight in January 2017 when she was spotted wandering on a road in the Motipur range of Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary in Bahraich district.
After her rescue, the Child Welfare Committee in Bahraich initially named her Pooja. She was later renamed Ehsaas and shifted to the Mohaan Road-based Nirvan Rajkiya Bal Grih Visheshikrit in Lucknow, where she spent most of her life.
According to Nirvan Foundation chairman Suresh Singh Dhapola, years of medical treatment, care and rehabilitation gradually helped Ehsaas adjust to life around people.
Despite years of rehabilitation, doctors found that Ehsaas' brain had remained severely underdeveloped, leaving her with intellectual disabilities. She also suffered from recurrent epileptic seizures and remained under treatment for years.
