Three boys from orphanage in Medchal go missing

Hyderabad: Three children aged below 12 years went missing from an orphanage, Krushi Homes in Medchal on Sunday.  The children were playing in the home, when at around 5 pm on Sunday, they were reported missing.  They were identified as S.K. Ghouse, 10, B. Narendra, 11 and M. Venkatesh, 11. On Saturday, the children at the home gathered for an awareness programme about the Facial Recognition programme that helps the police to reunite missing children with their parents. The three boys seemed a little perturbed after the event but said nothing. 

Another boy, 12-year-old Santosh said, “After the Medchal police came and spoke, Narendra and Venkatesh got very scared, but I do not know where they went, they were happy here, but suddenly the new information scared them very much.” The boys left on foot and were wearing t-shirts and shorts though the colour of their clothing is unknown.

All the belongings of the children are still at the Home as they did not take anything when they left. The following day, the boys completed their daily chores, and were playing when around 5pm in the evening, the three boys were not to be found. By 6 pm, the caregivers at the Home noticed the boys were not in the Home and panic-stricken, they began their search. Mr Vengal Rao, head of Krushi Homes, said, “We started looking immediately, we do not have cameras in the Home nor guards to stop the children, but we do a count of the children during the day to ensure they are all safe. When we could not find the children and they did not return till 6 pm on Monday we lodged a complaint with the police.”

Since July, the children have been residing in Krushi Home after they were shifted there from the Child Welfare Department. There is no information on the children's biological parents except for their names. Meanwhile, Special Inspector, Mr. Naidu, Medchal police said, “We are currently making all efforts to locate the missing children. There are multiple locations they could be at, and our teams are following all possible leads. It would have been more beneficial to have got the notification sooner.”

Researchers in child nabbing and missing cases, claim the first 48 hours of the disappearance of a child is very crucial and children who were reported missing within the first 24 hour time frame, had a better chance of being found and reunified with their families. Hence, it is essential to report to the authorities as soon as possible. This also helps the investigation when the local people make efforts to report any sightings of the children by calling the 1098 or local police station.