Mumbai: Two teenagers go missing amid academic pressure

Two teenagers aged 13 and 14 fled from their homes due to academic pressure in separate incidents One of them allegedly fabricated a rape story to avoid being reprimanded by her parentsIn the first incident the girls parents were searching for her when a family acquaintance spotted her near Bhandup railway station She was then brought to the police stationOn September 27 when the police recorded her statement to register an FIR an officer said ldquoConsidering the seriousness of the situation we registered an FIR and formed multiple teams to arrest the accused However during the investigation it was revealed that the girl was frustrated by her parents scolding She was scared and thus made up the false storyrdquoldquoThe girl said that three men had kidnapped her and then molested her When they were about to rape her the girl told them that she is on her period and requested them to leave her She then was left by the menrdquo the police saidThe police checked the CCTV footage and found out that no such incident happenedldquoShe had said that she was kidnapped and was taken to an abandoned spot with the help of a rickshaw But when we checked the CCTV cameras we found out that the girl had walked up to 2 kilometres without any incident at the crime spot that she had mentioned We questioned her and she got frightened She was constantly changing her statements and then she confessed that she was lyingrdquo the police saidShe confessed that she narrated a false story as she was frightened ldquoThe mother used to shout at her because she did not study One night before the incident they both had fought and she had decided to leave the houserdquo the police saidAn FIR was registered under Section 137 kidnapping and other relevant sections of the BNSAnother incidentIn a separate incident a 14yearold boy reportedly went missing from his home in Ulhasnagar following a disagreement with his parents regarding his academic performance Preliminary reports indicate that the boys parents had scolded him for not studying which escalated into a verbal altercation Emotionally distressed he left home around 9 pm on the night of the incident and has not been seen sinceInitially the family believed the boy would return soon and attempted to find him themselves However after two days without any sign of him they filed a formal complaint at the Ulhasnagar police station on September 27 In response the police have opened a case of abduction against an unknown individual and initiated a search operation to locate the boyA police spokesperson said ldquoWe are reviewing CCTV footage to track his movements and exploring every possible lead to find himrdquo They also noted that the investigation is ongoing and that all angles are being examined in the effort to locate the missing boy