Mumbai: Two teenagers go missing amid academic pressure

The police are currently on the lookout for the 14-year-old boy. Representation pic

Two teenagers, aged 13 and 14, fled from their homes due to academic pressure in separate incidents. One of them allegedly fabricated a rape story to avoid being reprimanded by her parents.

In the first incident, the girl's parents were searching for her when a family acquaintance spotted her near Bhandup railway station. She was then brought to the police station.

On September 27, when the police recorded her statement to register an FIR, an officer said, "Considering the seriousness of the situation, we registered an FIR and formed multiple teams to arrest the accused. However, during the investigation, it was revealed that the girl was frustrated by her parents' scolding. She was scared and thus made up the false story."

"The girl said that three men had kidnapped her and then molested her. When they were about to rape her, the girl told them that she is on her period and requested them to leave her. She then was left by the men," the police said.

The police checked the CCTV footage and found out that no such incident happened.

"She had said that she was kidnapped and was taken to an abandoned spot with the help of a rickshaw. But when we checked the CCTV cameras we found out that the girl had walked up to 2 kilometres, without any incident at the crime spot that she had mentioned. We questioned her and she got frightened. She was constantly changing her statements and then she confessed that she was lying." the police said.

She confessed that she narrated a false story as she was frightened, "The mother used to shout at her because she did not study. One night before the incident they both had fought and she had decided to leave the house." the police said.

An FIR was registered under Section 137 (kidnapping) and other relevant sections of the BNS.

Another incident

In a separate incident, a 14-year-old boy reportedly went missing from his home in Ulhasnagar following a disagreement with his parents regarding his academic performance. Preliminary reports indicate that the boy's parents had scolded him for not studying, which escalated into a verbal altercation. Emotionally distressed, he left home around 9 pm on the night of the incident and has not been seen since.

Initially, the family believed the boy would return soon and attempted to find him themselves. However, after two days without any sign of him, they filed a formal complaint at the Ulhasnagar police station on September 27. In response, the police have opened a case of abduction against an unknown individual and initiated a search operation to locate the boy.

A police spokesperson said, "We are reviewing CCTV footage to track his movements and exploring every possible lead to find him." They also noted that the investigation is ongoing and that all angles are being examined in the effort to locate the missing boy.