Two kids who left home after scolding by mother rescued by police

The two children had wandered around 2km away from their homes when police constable Vivek Chandra spotted them at around 11.30am.

Hours after a three-year-old boy and a five-year-old girl ran away from their homes in southwest Delhi’s Sagarpur area, the children were reunited with their families on Thursday, thanks to the quick thinking of a police constable patrolling the area.

A video of the exchange between Jha and the children has since gone viral on social media, in which the two can be heard telling the SHO that they ran away because their mothers scold them. (HT Photo)

Shivansh and Shruti, who are neighbours, said they ran away from their homes because their mothers scold them. The two children had wandered around 2km away from their homes when police constable Vivek Chandra spotted them at around 11.30am.

Chandra told HT, “I was near a park when I saw these two children. I stopped and asked them their names, their parents’ names and address. But they couldn’t say much except for sharing their names. Anything could have happened to the kids, so I brought them to the Sagarpur police station.”

When station house officer KB Jha reached the police station, Chandra apprised him of the matter, following which he spoke to the children. “The boy’s speech wasn’t clear, and the girl was only able to share her name and few other details. We tried to set them at ease by giving them food,” Jha said.

Meanwhile, police personnel patrolling all beats were called back to the police station and informed of the incident. The children’s photographs were also circulated on WhatsApp groups.

“We assumed that the children live in the area based on their clothes and their footwear. Over 30 personnel were sent out across the police station jurisdiction looking for their parents. Messages were also sent on wireless,” Jha added.

At around 3:30pm, Shruti’s parents reached the police station.

Rinku, 26, the mother, told HT that she had brought Shruti back from the anganwadi school and had started preparing lunch when she realised that the five-year-old was missing. “I started looking for her in the area, and after I could not find her, I called her father, who runs a furniture shop in Mayapuri,” she said.

According to Rinku, her husband Ram Sharma was on his way home when he saw police officers showing shopkeepers in the sabzi mandi photographs of the two kids. After asserting that they were Shruti and Shivansh, the parents rushed to the police station, where they were reunited with their children.

As for whether she scolds Shruti, Rinku said an emphatic no. “They might have said it as a passing statement,” she said.