Boy, 11, flees home, spends 27 hours on his own by Narmada, found unharmed

Khargone: An 11-year-old boy disappearing from home for the fear of being scolded by his grandmother and returning unharmed after 27 hours is no ordinary story. Particularly, in an area where a child was almost sacrificed nine months ago when cops nabbed the culprits and rescued him just in the nick of time.

The fear and a thousand ill-thoughts kept the family on the edge all this while.Sensing the urgency, the police launched a large-scale search operation. Six dedicated teams were swiftly deployed across strategic locations throughout the town and its surroundings, said Khargone ASP Shakuntala Ruhal.Bus and train stations, public parks, Narmada Ghats and other places frequented by children were thoroughly scanned.

Alongside this, police gathered local intelligence, established community checkpoints and intensified patrolling across the region.Time was ticking by and every hour was crucial.That’s when an input was received from a boatman about a boy sitting lonely at a ghat of the Narmada.Teams rushed to the spot and rescued the boy who was hungry, looked pale and unwashed. He was provided food, water and a primary health checkup.

During counselling, the boy said that he had damaged the bicycle of a school friend and feared being scolded by his grandmother for this. So, he ran away from his home and hid by the riverside all night by himself, without food and water.While the boy returned home safe, the instance of a child being on his own and going unharmed in increasingly criminalised urban spaces is a story of assurance and hope.