Quepem police start search for missing Class VIII student

QUEPEM: A Class VIII student has been reported missing from his residence at Cotto Amona, Quepem, since March 7.
Quepem police on Saturday registered an FIR of kidnapping, after the minor boy’s family lodged a complaint. According to the complaint, the boy left his residence on March 7 around 5pm. The family stated that the boy had asked his mother for Rs 600. But after she refused to accede to his demand, the boy took off on his bicycle. As the boy hadn’t returned till late in the evening, the mother narrated the incident to her elder son, who began a search in the Quepem market and eventually spotted the boy’s bicycle parked near the Quepem fuel station.

The boy is the fifth sibling in the family, and his father is unemployed due to an illness. The family said that there was nothing amiss in the boy’s behaviour. They also said that he is not someone who is known to get into trouble.

Quepem DySP Kiran Poduval said that the police have registered a case under Section 363 of the IPC (kidnapping) and Section 8 of the Goa Children’s Act. “We have obtained all details from the family, and instructions have been issued to the police to detect the boy,” said Poduval.

Earlier in January, the boy had gone missing from his boarding school. Subsequently, his sister found him at the Margao railway station. The boy did not like residing at the school, which is why he bunked classes and ran away, the sister said.