VIRUDHUNAGAR: Three school students from Narikudi, who ran away from their houses last week along with their 16-year-old friend, were brought back from Puducherry recently and reunited with their families. Police sources said two of the boys were not interested in academics and they had gone to Puducherry in search of work.
On September 23, Narikudi police received a complaint from a 35-year-old woman stating that her 13-year-old son, who was studying class 9, had gone missing along with three of his friends the previous day. One of my friends was studying in class 10 and another in class 11. Police teams were formed to trace the boys and their photographs were shared with other police stations.
After two days of search, the police found the boys in Puducherry and subsequently brought them back to Narikudi on Wednesday. "Two of the boys were not interested in studies. Their 16-year-old friend, who hails from Tiruchy district, used to work in the area and this tempted the others to find work and earn money for themselves. Initially, the parents thought the boys had left for some nearby areas to watch kabaddi matches. However, when they didn't return even after a day, the parents lodged the complaint," police sources added.
Police officials counselled the boys and their parents on the significance of education. They also sent the 16-year-old boy back to his parents' house in Tiruchy.