7 runaway students reunited with families in Bangalore

Seven 16-year-olds from Morarji Desai English Residential School, who ran away from school claiming they were ‘harassed’ by teachers, were found by the Missing Children’s Bureau (MCB) loitering around Majestic Bus station.

The boys — Anand, Ravi, Mallikarjuna, Sahadeva, Annappa, Manjunath and Raghavendra —were rescued with the help of Upparpet police.

MCB director Fr Jose P said the seven youngsters ran away from the residential school on January 9.

“They went to Majestic Hotel and sought work and accommodation. While three of boys — Annappa, Manjunath and Raghavendra — got jobs, the other four — Anand, Ravi, Mallikarjuna and Sahadeva —decided to loiter in the area.  At the Majestic bus station, our staff spotted them,” he said.
The boys said their teachers were strict and blamed them for their troubles at school.

Fr Jose said: “As soon as the school authorities found out about the missing children, they informed their parents, who lodged a police complaint. As soon as our staffer found them, we got in touch with the school authorities, who sent a representative. The parents also came.”

“The reason for their running away was constant nagging and harassment by teachers. But it was not the school’s fault alone. These youngsters used to bully their juniors,” he added. After counselling the students, parents and teachers, the students were sent home.