The mystery behind the sudden disappearance of a 16-year-old schoolboy from Santa Cruz and a 25-year-old English teacher from his school in January has been solved. Mumbai crime branch officials traced them to Bangalore where they were working in a mall and staying in a rented apartment in the Whitefield area of the Garden City. The police said they were in a relationship.

The teacher, Anjali Singh, 23, was arrested on Friday and booked for kidnapping and abducting a minor. Though she did not teach the boy, the two got close during a dance event some months ago. "Singh was in regular touch with the minor student from her English-medium school in Santa Cruz. They used to interact regularly on WhatsApp. Over a period of time, they got into a relationship after which Singh hatched a plot to elope with the boy," said Deepak Phatangare, senior police inspector with unit VIII of the Mumbai crime branch.

On January 25, the boy left his Santa Cruz residence around 9am, saying he was stepping out to buy clothes. His family was worried when he did not return home. "The minor's family waited for a day, but filed a missing persons' complaint with the Vakola police station later," said a police officer.

The police investigations revealed that Singh too went missing on the day the boy left his residence. "During the initial probe, their phones were traced to the Vasco da Gama area of Goa. A police team was sent there immediately," Phatangare told dna. However, the teacher and the student had sold their mobile phones to a shopkeeper and destroyed the SIM cards. "This was done to wipe out any trace of their whereabouts," Phatangare said.

After a thorough and lengthy probe, the police got a tip-off that the duo was in Bangalore. "We sent a police team to Bangalore and found that Singh and the student were staying together in a rented flat in the Whitefield area of the city. They were working in a nearby mall," Phatangare told dna.

Singh and the minor were brought back to Mumbai on Friday. "While Singh was arrested on charges of kidnapping, the minor was handed over to his parents. Further investigations are on," Phatangare said.

2014, a love story

On January 25, a 16-year-old student of Santa Cruz school leaves home, saying he has to buy clothes, but does not return. An English teacher from his school goes missing on the same day. Plot to elope with lover was hatched by teacher

The police trace them to Goa, but they escape after selling their mobile phones and destroying SIM cards.

Later, the police get a tip-off that the teacher and student are in Bangalore. They had rented an apartment and were working in a mall. Teacher was arrested on Friday; boy handed over to his parents