Harried by alcoholic father, brothers flee home to study

Ranjan (15) and Chanchal (13) wanted to study. But an alcoholic father came in their way. Hence the brothers ran away from home and took admission to a private school in Etawah.

However, the pursuit of knowledge came to an abrupt end when they ended up calling their mother on January 24 from a cell phone, pulling the curtains on their year-long sojourn in Etawah. The harried mother informed the police and the brothers were tracked down on January 26, said S B S Tyagi, Deputy Commissioner of Police (crime).

They had been reported missing from their Nihal Vihar home in west Delhi since October 2011. After being brought to Delhi, the duo were produced before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), before being sent to a children’s home at Dwarka.

Much to the surprise of the authorities, Ranjan and Chanchal did not want to return home. Instead, they pleaded the CWC authorities to get them admitted either to their old school or any other institute.  The brothers revealed to the CWC authorities that they studied at a government school in Delhi. Their drunkard father Shish Pal, who works at a torchlight manufacturing unit, often made them skip school and join him at work. 

Keen on continuing their studies, the brothers plotted a way out. They started assembling and selling torchlights to raise some money. “They managed to save a few hundred rupees and went to the Anand Vihar inter-state bus terminal. From there, they took a bus to Etawah,” said a police officer.

The brothers said they chose Etawah since their  parents were from nearby Firozabad and they would blend well with the local population because of  similar accent.

“On reaching Etawah, they first tried to get a room in a hotel, but were turned away. They spent two nights on the streets. On the third day, they went to a sweet shop seeking a job,” said a police officer. They worked there for a day.

It was learnt that the brothers had lied to the halwai that their parents were dead. They claimed to have come to Etawah looking for job, so that they could continue with their studies.

Moved by their urge to study, the halwai went out of his way to convince the principal of a private school to admit them. The principal of Ram Adarsh School agreed to admit them, provided they produced their transfer certificates by April 2012.

Ranjan was admitted to class VII and Chanchal to class V. They were allowed to stay in the school canteen after the classes, the police said.