Three youngsters from Ludhiana and Machhiwara Sahib, who left home for Rajasthan on August 20 without informing their families, were traced to a hotel in Sikar, from where they were brought back on Tuesday, police said.
The trio had travelled to the neighbouring state to meet friends they had made through online gaming, the police added.
The trio, aged between 20 and 21, told police during preliminary questioning that repeated objections from their parents to the amount of time they spent playing games online had prompted them to leave home.
Their families, unaware of their whereabouts after the youths switched off their mobile phones, feared they had gone missing and approached the Khanna police.
A missing-person FIR was registered on August 22, following which the police began tracing the youths.
Khanna senior superintendent of police (SSP) Darpan Ahluwalia said, “The trio was located at a hotel near the Khatu Shyam Temple in Sikar through an analysis of their digital trail. They have been identified as Varun Kumar and Utkarsh, both college students from Machhiwara Sahib, and Mohit, a migrant worker living on Gill Road in Ludhiana.”
According to the SSP, Varun took his family car on August 20 and left for Sikar with Utkarsh and Mohit and they switched off their phones.
{{/usCountry}}According to the SSP, Varun took his family car on August 20 and left for Sikar with Utkarsh and Mohit and they switched off their phones.
{{/usCountry}}After receiving complaints from their families a probe was launched.
The police technical team analysed call detail records (CDRs), International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) details and data linked to their Gmail accounts to establish their whereabouts.
Investigators also used open-source information to link a device to a gaming profile, helping narrow down their location to Rajasthan, Ahluwalia said.
The information was shared with Rajasthan Police, whose personnel located the trio at the hotel in Sikar.
“A team from Khanna police travelled to Rajasthan and brought them back to Ludhiana on Tuesday,” the SSP said.
Police had initially suspected that the youths could have fallen prey to criminals or anti-social elements, given that they had abruptly disappeared and switched off their phones. The digital trail, however, eventually led investigators to their location in Sikar.
During questioning, the youths said they had wanted to meet in person some of the friends they had made through the online battle game Free Fire.
Police said their plans extended beyond Sikar, with the trio intending to travel to other parts of the country and meet more gaming friends. They had planned a trip to Haridwar and Kedarnath after Sikar.
The police counselled the youths before handing them over to their families, the SSP said.