delhi

Updated: Aug 01, 2016 10:14 IST

They were scared, disillusioned. Fearing they would be thrashed for scoring less marks in their exams, two brothers from Bhoj in Amethi decided to leave home. They went to the railway station and boarded a train to the city they always dreamt of visiting — New Delhi. Reality, however, was harsher.

For two days, with no money in their pockets and nowhere to go, the boys -- Mohammad Ashif (15) and Mohammad Shoid (16), students of class 9 and 10 at Amity International School, wandered the streets of the not so dreamy city and slept on the roadside. As they reached the high security VVIP area of Chanakyapuri, they were spotted by constable Ved Prakash who was patrolling the area.

“The boys were wandering near Teenmurty, staring at the installations and the buildings. I knew the boys were in trouble and had lost their way. I stopped and asked them where they were from. Looking at my uniform, they got scared and were reluctant to talk but I put them at ease. I promised them to reunite them with their families and took them to the police station,” Prakash said.

“The first thing they told me was that they were hungry. I realised that they had not eaten for the last two days, so I asked them to freshen up and then bought them food. It is this gesture that helped build a rapport and the boys narrated their story to me,” he said.

Last year, 7,345 children went missing, of which 4,368 were traced. From these cases, about 70% left their homes after being pressured to perform well in studies, police said. The same was true of the two brothers Prakash had found.

The boys told Prakash that their father is an Army man and very strict when it comes to marks. They said that they were tired of the constant pressure to perform well and decided to run away. “They told me that they scored less in their examination and were scared to show the answer sheets to their parents. They also said that they did not like their subjects and were more interested in extra-curricular activities. I then convinced them to share the phone number of their father, who is posted in Bhopal,” Prakash said.

The constable called their father to New Delhi to reunite the family and assured the boys that they would not be thrashed. “Our analysis has revealed that most kids run away from their homes because they are pressured to perform well in studies. They are not capable of taking are of themselves, so most of them either fall into bad company or are sucked into illegal activities by outsiders. The parents also regret it later. This is why I insisted that the boys father be counselled,” station house officer, Chanakyapuri, Virender Jain said.

The team of officer from Chanakyapuri not only spoke to the father but also the boys. “We made the father understand that pressuring kids for studies will not do them any good. Instead they should be encouraged to pursue the field they like. We also explained to the boys, how important it was to complete their education and how running away from home could have cost them their future. They smiled and agreed. Two nights of sleeping on the road empty stomach and getting mugged had taught them their lessons,” Jain said.

They were scared, disillusioned. Fearing they would be thrashed for scoring less marks in their exams, two brothers from Bhoj in Amethi decided to leave home. They went to the railway station and boarded a train to the city they always dreamt of visiting — New Delhi. Reality, however, was harsher.

For two days, with no money in their pockets and nowhere to go, the boys -- Mohammad Ashif (15) and Mohammad Shoid (16), students of class 9 and 10 at Amity International School, wandered the streets of the not so dreamy city and slept on the roadside. As they reached the high security VVIP area of Chanakyapuri, they were spotted by constable Ved Prakash who was patrolling the area.

“The boys were wandering near Teenmurty, staring at the installations and the buildings. I knew the boys were in trouble and had lost their way. I stopped and asked them where they were from. Looking at my uniform, they got scared and were reluctant to talk but I put them at ease. I promised them to reunite them with their families and took them to the police station,” Prakash said.

“The first thing they told me was that they were hungry. I realised that they had not eaten for the last two days, so I asked them to freshen up and then bought them food. It is this gesture that helped build a rapport and the boys narrated their story to me,” he said.

Last year, 7,345 children went missing, of which 4,368 were traced. From these cases, about 70% left their homes after being pressured to perform well in studies, police said. The same was true of the two brothers Prakash had found.