Inspired by 'Gunday', Delhi teens flee to Mumbai

When Arjun Kapoor and Ranveer Singh played outlaws in their 2014 movie, ‘Gunday', little did they know that two years after it aired, they would end up ‘inspiring' three Delhi boys, who ran away from their troubled homes.

Inspector Ashwini Patil from Vasai police station with the Delhi teens

In the movie, Kapoor and Singh play orphans affected by the Bangladesh Liberation War, who go on to become coal bandits and then turn into powerful goons in Kolkata. Even though they had no ambition to become goons, the teens related to the movie and were even more inspired to flee.

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A still from Gunday

The boys fled from their homes and took refuge in Mumbai to escape their allegedly troubled families and start a new life. "They were hiding in the pack and parcel area at the Vasai railway station and slept inside the gunny bags that were lying around," said Ashwini Patil, inspector at the Vasai police station, who found the boys.

Planned for days
The boys planned the trip for days before leaving. Since neither of them had money, they stole R600 from one of their friends and used it to survive here. "They all had some or the other problem going on in their homes. One of them said his father used to come home drunk and beat the mother. All of them would discuss their problems at school. A few days before they fled, they saw Gunday and related to the film a lot. Hence, they came here," added Patil.

Sent home
Another officer had spotted the boys in their school uniforms on July 30 and asked Patil to check out if they were victims of human trafficking. Patil went to the spot to speak to them and found out that the boys had run away instead.

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"When I was informed by the other officers who were on their way back home that some unusual activity is happening, we immediately started the search. We found five kids, three from Delhi and two from Bhiwani and Kharbao. The kids from Delhi have been sent home and the other two are at the Bal Sudhar Gruh in Mumbai," said Patil. The boys came to Mumbai on July 26 and were sent back home on Sunday night.

"The human trafficking in our area has increased a lot. Children do not realize what a mess they can fall into by running away from their homes. It is very important for parents to have conversations with their children everyday about what is going on in their lives," she added.