Howrah: Fifteen-year-old national-level shooter Damayanti Sen, whose disappearance from her Howrah home on Thursday morning triggered widespread concern and viral social media appeals, was found on Saturday morning near Ramkrishnapur Ghat. But her return, as puzzling as her disappearance, has left police and family members searching for answers.Damayanti had reportedly left home to buy milk but did not return. Police later tracked her through CCTV footage, which showed her at Howrah station and later at the Rathayatra in Mahesh, Serampore.On Saturday morning, family friend Samar Mukherjee spotted her sitting in deep meditation at a secluded spot near Ramkrishnapur Ghat during his walk. He alerted Damayanti’s father, central Howrah MLA Arup Roy, and Howrah Police. Cops and family members soon reached the spot and brought her back.“My daughter had gone out seeking spiritual peace to ease her mental stress,” said her father Dhruvajyoti Sen, headmaster of a govt HS girls’ school in Andul.“Damayanti has always been somewhat of an introvert. She has no close friends. Outside of studies and practice, she mostly keeps to herself. She often becomes absent-minded, though she is extremely serious about both academics and training,” he said.He said the family regularly worshipped Shiva and discussed spirituality at home. “Damayanti is very interested in learning about Indian and foreign spiritual traditions. She watches various spiritual reels and programs on YouTube,” he added.Dhruvajyoti said her shooting practice often led to her reaching school late that resulted in frequent guardian calls. “My daughter is under constant strain from both studies and practice. Those guardian calls added to her mental burden. To cope, she practised yoga, deep meditation, and recited spiritual hymns every day. But neither her mother nor I realized how deeply drawn she had become toward spirituality internally,” he said.Police said Damayanti appeared dazed in CCTV footage and remained fuzzy about where she had been. She reportedly claimed to have spent two nights at the house of an unknown person in Serampore whom she referred to as “Guruma”, apparently a female ascetic.During questioning, Damayanti said she could not understand how she reached Howrah station. She claimed she met the ascetic there, and that the woman advised her to return home. When she refused, the ascetic allegedly took her to a disciple’s house in Serampore, where Damayanti ate, visited Mahesh Rathayatra and stayed overnight. On Saturday morning, the woman reportedly brought her to Howrah station and put her on a bus, after which Damayanti wandered to Ramkrishnapur Ghat.Police said she could not properly describe the ascetic or recall her home phone number. “Her statements are incoherent. We will try to understand the matter again once she is mentally more stable. We do not want to increase her stress by interrogating her right now,” a senior Howrah City Police officer said.Roy said, “There is no doubt that Damayanti is a very good girl. She is brilliant in her studies and highly talented in shooting as well. But she is somewhat spiritually inclined.”Dhruvajyoti said he would arrange psychological counselling for her.
