Maharashtra: Four school children missing; parents approach police

THANE: Four children, in the age group of 14 to 15 years, have gone missing after leaving for school from their homes in Maharashtra's Thane district, police said on Tuesday.

The incident took place in Ambernath town on Monday following which the police registered a case under Indian Penal Code Section 363 (kidnapping) against unknown persons, an official from Shivaji Nagar police station said. The children, residents of different localities in Ambernath and studying in the same school, left their homes at around 7 am, but did not return, he said.

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The parents searched for them in Ambernath and other neighbouring areas, but did not find them, the official said. A teacher of one of the children called up the parents to inform that their child had not come to school. When the student's parents went to the school for checking, they came to know that three other children had also not come to the school, the official said. The parents of the four children then approached the local police, he said. Efforts were on to trace the children, he added.