Click to play videoPatna: Five-year-old Anjali and her elder sister Rimjhim were staring at a hopeless future till Wednesday after their parents admitted them to a Patna school hostel and disappeared some 13 months back.
Two days after CNN-IBN aired a story highlighting their plight, things look better for the two deserted daughters.
First, their mother returned to claim them. And now they have been offered financial help for life by none other than Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan.
The Bachchan senior has offered to pay the expenses for their schooling and other care.
The story of Anjali and Rimjhim has moved many people in various Indian cities as well as overseas and there was an immediate outpouring of support for the two.
Many people have contacted CNN-IBN or written in, expressing their willingness to support Anjali and Rimjhim.
And Amitabh Bachchan himself has come forward with an offer through his friend Amar Singh.
"Bachchanji called me up and told me to convey it to IBN on his behalf that he is willing to take care of all the expenses to provide schooling and other cares to these two girls," Samajwadi Party leader and a Bachchan family friend told CNN-IBN.
Anjali and Rimjhim spent the last 14 months as orphans. The mother says after watching their plight on CNN-IBN, she caught the first train to Patna.
"Mujhe apne baccho ke bare main IBN channel se pata chala. Aab main bahut kush hu. Mujhe mere bache mill gaye (I got to know about their plight through IBN. I am very happy to be with them.)" the mother, Sikha Pandey, says.
Even Anjali and Rimjhim are happy to have their mother back. "Ham bahut kush hai, mummy mill gayi, (we are very happy to see my mother after so many months)" Anjali beams.
The sisters were brought to the privately-run Shanti Niketan School in Patna by their mother around a year back. But she disappeared after getting them admitted in the hostel. The school authorities tried to locate the family, only to be confronted with a fake address.
The mother now says she left the two daughters in the school hostel as she lives in a red light area while her husband is in jail. Now, thanks to Big B or many others like him, the two girls might just have a better future.
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