Fed up with beatings at home, boy runs away
A class IV student of Mirambika School ran away from home for the second time in 15 days. This time he took along his friend. Both were later found from Vatva
By Yogesh Avasthi and Zahid Qureshi
Posted On Wednesday, August 11, 2010 (http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20Latest§id=2&contentid=201008112010081103021816660e32887)
A depressed eight-year-old boy, reportedly a victim of corporal punishment at home, went missing on Tuesday, sending authorities of Mirambika School in Naranpura into a tizzy. Kshitij (name changed), a class IV student, ran away with his classmate Geet (name changed) after school hours. This was the second time in 15 days Kshitij had left home without informing anyone. Both kids were later found from Vatva GIDC.
The teachers and other staff members of the school spent the entire day looking for the missing children, worried they could have been abducted. Wireless messages giving description of the boys were flashed to all police stations in and around Ahmedabad.
Authorities at railway stations and bus stations in the city were also alerted. Around 10.30 pm, both the children were found near Vatva GIDC. A rickshawallah spotted the kids and dropped them home, ending the 10-hour suspense. The boys had reached Vatva in an AMTS bus. Their school identity cards helped the rickshaw driver to trace their residences.
On Tuesday, when the boys did not return home after school hours, the parents called up the teachers. A worried school management immediately sent the staff to BRTS bus stops and gardens to look for the boys. A missing complaint was also registered at Naranpura police station.
Around 4 pm, the school received a call from Bhadrakali temple stating they found bags of two kids from their premises, whipping up the frenzy.
However, Kshitij’s mother was confident he would return. The boy had run away from home 15 days ago. He got on to a bus to Khokhra not knowing where to go. Luckily, a Gujarati family spotted the boy and took him home. The next day they took the boy to the school and met his principal Antony Arul Raj. The boy had reportedly told the family that he did not like staying with his parents.
“We tried counselling the boy after he ran away from home two weeks ago. We even spoke to his mother. But nothing really changed. He was always depressed,” said Raj.
School trustee Devarshi Patel said: “We came to know through Kshitij’s friends and neighbours that his parents used to beat him regularly.”
Sources said that Kshitij’s father seemed least bothered him on Tuesday. He was apparently busy attending a meeting, they said. It was his mother who kept calling up the school time and again for any news about him, sources said. Asked where was Kshitij’s father, she said: “He is busy in a meeting.”
By Yogesh Avasthi and Zahid Qureshi
Posted On Wednesday, August 11, 2010 (http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20Latest§id=2&contentid=201008112010081103021816660e32887)
A depressed eight-year-old boy, reportedly a victim of corporal punishment at home, went missing on Tuesday, sending authorities of Mirambika School in Naranpura into a tizzy. Kshitij (name changed), a class IV student, ran away with his classmate Geet (name changed) after school hours. This was the second time in 15 days Kshitij had left home without informing anyone. Both kids were later found from Vatva GIDC.
The teachers and other staff members of the school spent the entire day looking for the missing children, worried they could have been abducted. Wireless messages giving description of the boys were flashed to all police stations in and around Ahmedabad.
Authorities at railway stations and bus stations in the city were also alerted. Around 10.30 pm, both the children were found near Vatva GIDC. A rickshawallah spotted the kids and dropped them home, ending the 10-hour suspense. The boys had reached Vatva in an AMTS bus. Their school identity cards helped the rickshaw driver to trace their residences.
On Tuesday, when the boys did not return home after school hours, the parents called up the teachers. A worried school management immediately sent the staff to BRTS bus stops and gardens to look for the boys. A missing complaint was also registered at Naranpura police station.
Around 4 pm, the school received a call from Bhadrakali temple stating they found bags of two kids from their premises, whipping up the frenzy.
However, Kshitij’s mother was confident he would return. The boy had run away from home 15 days ago. He got on to a bus to Khokhra not knowing where to go. Luckily, a Gujarati family spotted the boy and took him home. The next day they took the boy to the school and met his principal Antony Arul Raj. The boy had reportedly told the family that he did not like staying with his parents.
“We tried counselling the boy after he ran away from home two weeks ago. We even spoke to his mother. But nothing really changed. He was always depressed,” said Raj.
School trustee Devarshi Patel said: “We came to know through Kshitij’s friends and neighbours that his parents used to beat him regularly.”
Sources said that Kshitij’s father seemed least bothered him on Tuesday. He was apparently busy attending a meeting, they said. It was his mother who kept calling up the school time and again for any news about him, sources said. Asked where was Kshitij’s father, she said: “He is busy in a meeting.”
