Thane teen not traceable after seven days

The post was retweeted 3,600 times. Panchal also posted a tweet with the photograph of Ansh Panchal and gave a description. Several Twitter users helped amplify his photo and details to help the family.

Thane: A tweet by a worried father about his 17-year-old son who went missing from Thane on December 15, has gone viral on Twitter.

He was last seen in CCTV footage at the ticket counter at Thane west railway station carrying a backpack and a trolley bag. (HT PHOTO)

“My teenage son has been missing since last week. Police are on it but unfortunately no breakthrough yet. Each moment is painful now. Though we live in a smart city – Thane – where so-called 1500 CCTVs are installed, however, the entire system is failing to locate one boy,” tweeted Jayesh Panchal, father of the teenager.

The post was retweeted 3,600 times. Panchal also posted a tweet with the photograph of Ansh Panchal and gave a description. Several Twitter users helped amplify his photo and details to help the family.

Ansh, a class XII student, was studying for his CET and stepped out of his house to go to his coaching class on December 15 around 11 am. His family has not heard from him since then, though more than seven days have passed.

He was last seen in CCTV footage at the ticket counter at Thane west railway station carrying a backpack and a trolley bag. Panchal lodged a missing complaint with Rabodi police station. The police investigations showed that he purchased a ticket for Pune.

“We have sent teams to Pune to check if he has visited some close friends that the family pointed to. We spoke to the family, and have checked out all possibilities that his parents asked us to check, but so far, we have not succeeded in tracing him,” said Rajendra Gujar of Rabodi police station.

Speaking to HT, Panchal said, “Ansh is our only son, and we are a close-knit family. I have always been very open and friendly with him. He was not very serious about academics in school, but he decided to appear for CET and the last two years he has been working very hard.”

Ansh hardly did anything else except study, and Panchal asked him to put in sincere efforts, irrespective of the results, he added. The 17-year-old was not carrying a lot of money when he left, and was not carrying his mobile phone either.

“That he left the phone at home indicates that he was aware that it could be tracked and didn’t want that. Every passing day has been very painful for us, especially for his worried mother. I want to appeal to my son to come back home, and I am always here to support him,” said Panchal.

(Anyone with information should contact Jayesh Panchal at 9224676408/9987484203)