Some may call it foolish but for these six little daredevils, it was a children’s day out for visiting malls and the India Gate monument.
The boys aged between eight and 13 years spent Monday night living on the streets in west Delhi’s Uttam Nagar before being traced by police the next day.
They were reunited with their families within 12 hours of being reported missing on Tuesday. Four cases of kidnapping were also registered with Uttam Nagar police station.
All of them belong to middle class families staying in Uttam Nagar.
“The children used to play together and had planned an outing on Monday,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Ranvir Singh said. “But they did not return home fearing their parents. They had dinner at Tilak Nagar gurdwara and spent the night in a park in severe cold,” Singh added.
Their parents approached police at 9 am on Monday. Police swung into action and their photographs were uploaded on ZIPNET – a network used by police to coordinate their investigative teams.
Five teams under the supervision of Assistant Commissioner of Police (Vikaspuri) and Assistant Commissioner of Police (Operation Cell) were formed and officials of the Crime Branch were also informed.
“The details of the missing children were also promptly given to the missing person squad, the National Crime Records Bureau, State Crime Records Bureau and the district missing person unit,” Singh said.
Colour photographs of the children were prepared and pasted at prominent locations with a request to inform the SHO of Uttam Nagar and the Assistant Commissioner of Police (Vikaspuri).
Teams were also dispatched to railway stations, inter-state bus terminals and Metro stations.The search operation continued till Tuesday evening and the efforts bore fruit when one of the minors was spotted near Tilak Nagar gurdwara.
“We identified him on the basis of the photographs and his parents were contacted,” Singh added.
His friends were also located in a nearby area and handed over to their parents. They will be produced before the Child Welfare Committee. The parents expressed their gratitude to police for speedy recovery of their children.