3 boys who went missing last week, found

Police said they had made a friend online who asked them to come to Mumbai and meet a Bollywood actor.

Three boys, who went missing from their homes in Sadar Bazaar area last week, were found at a railway station in Maharashtra’s Nashik on Tuesday. Police said the boys were on their way to Mumbai where they wanted to meet a Bollywood actor.

Police said the boys were on their way to Mumbai where they wanted to meet a Bollywood actor. (HT Archive)

The boys, aged 13, 11 and nine, live in the same locality and are students at a private school in Sadar Bazaar. Police said they had made a friend online who asked them to come to Mumbai and meet the actor.

According to the police, a woman came with a complaint on July 25 saying that her sons, aged 13 and nine, are missing. Another woman came later and complained that her 11-year-old son is missing.

Raja Banthia, DCP (north) said, “The boys had left a hand written note saying they are going to meet their friend in Jalna, Maharashtra. One of the boys was also carrying a phone but it was switched off. Hundreds of CCTVs were scanned and it was found the boys went towards Ajmeri Gate. We suspected that they would have boarded a train for Jalna.”

“Within a day, the team reached the friend’s house in Jalna but the boys could not be traced. Sadly, they had found that police were looking for them and boarded a train to Mumbai. One of them had switched on his phone for a few minutes. We traced the location and sent teams to Nashik…” said another officer.

Police said on Tuesday the team reached Nashik and found the boys before they could board another train. DCP added, “During questioning, the boys said they play an online multi-player game and met their online friend there. The friend told them he had met a Bollywood actor and could facilitate their meeting. Excited, they decided to flee after school and boarded a train…”