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Runaway teens don’t want to live with parents
The six runaway girls from Kalina, who were found in Thane’s Morbad on Saturday, have told the police they were not in a mood to go home.
The six runaway girls from Kalina, who were found in Thane’s Morbad on Saturday, have told the police they were not in a mood to go home.
“They say their parents yelled at them over issues ranging from studies to household work,” said inspector Sanjay Patil of Vakola police station. “They do not wish to be subjected to the same thing again.”
Patil said the girls could be handed over to the families on Monday, but before that, they would need counselling.
The girls had fled their homes in Shiv Nagar area of Santacruz (East) on Thursday. That afternoon, they went to Pune, following which they went to Morbad, the police said.
It was expected the matter could be a case of kidnapping, but now, the police say it was a “childish plot” and the girls had influenced each other.
"They all live in the same locality and are close friends," said Patil. "They discussed the issues at home and somehow, saw a way out in fleeing. Being teenagers, they were too impulsive and childish to think of the repercussions."
The parents, meanwhile, said they were glad that their children were found.
“I do not know what provoked my daughters to flee,” said Dayanand Sawant, father of two siblings. “If I yell at them for not studying, it is because I care for them and I’m worried about their future.”
He said he would be more careful in dealing with them in future. “We had a traumatic time and we will do everything it takes to make these children are happy,” he added.
19-yr-old who helped may be booked
The runaway girls of Kalina had sought the help of a 19-year-old youth from Karjat to help them stay in Morbad, the Vakola police said.
Sameer Bhalerao was a friend of the eldest of the girls, a 17-year-old.
On Friday, a police team went to Karjat to question Bhalerao and he admitted that he had stationed the girls at a friend’s second floor apartment in a village called Dokewadi, around 24 km from Morbad.
The police went to Dokewadi, where the girls were eventually found.
Bhalerao, the police said, might be booked for kidnapping.
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