Police find 15-year-old runaway girl with help of friend

A 15-year-old girl, who left home after an argument with her mother over social media usage, was found by the police and returned to her family.

MUMBAI: A 15-year-old girl, who left home on Wednesday after being reprimanded for wasting time on social media by her mother, was found by the police on Thursday.

HT Image

The girl had left a note with her brother saying that she would return only after she had made something of her life. The Meghwadi police tracked her down with the help of a friend she was in touch with and handed her over to the family.

According to the police, they received a complaint about the missing teenager late on Wednesday night. Her parents said she had handed a note to her brother informing them of her intention of not returning home. Despite reaching out to many of her friends, the family was unable to get any information on her whereabouts, the police added.

“The girl had left home on Wednesday evening, when she usually leaves for her tuition classes. Before leaving, she did not speak to her mother as the two had some argument earlier in the day about how the girl was wasting her time on social media instead of doing something constructive,” a police official said. She did speak to her brother and even handed him a letter for their mother, the officer added.

Sometime after the girl left home, the mother got to read the letter. It said that the girl did not intend to return until she had made achievements that her parents could brag about, the police said.

“Worried, the mother called her tuition classes. She was relieved to know that the girl was in the classes, however, got worried later in the evening when the girl did not return home at her usual time,” the officer said. The parents made calls to many of her friends, but none of them had any idea about where she could be.

The family then approached the police, who tried to locate the girl through her mobile phone location, but it was switched off. They also got in touch with all her friends and found that one of them was in touch with the girl. “She told the friend about the argument with her mother and that she had gone to another friend’s home. We asked the friend to tell the girl that he wanted to see her in person to be assured that she was alright as he received a call from the police,” the officer said.

The two friends decided to meet the next afternoon, where the police accompanied the friend. Women officers told the girl about the missing complaint and brought her back to the Meghwadi police station. “We recorded her statement to ensure she was not being abused at home. She also spoke with the counsellor from the child welfare committee before we let her go home with her parents,” the officer said.