4 teen boys detained for crimes missing from Ponda ashram

Ponda: Four teenage boys, who had been detained for crimes, have gone missing from a Ponda ashram. Three of them are originally from Chandigarh and one from Kasaragod, Kerala.
Following a complaint lodged by the administration in charge of the ashram, Ponda police have registered a case of kidnapping of the four — aged between 13 and 16 — from the lawful guardianship and custody of the ashram.
Ponda DySP Ashish Shirodkar said the four minor boys had been shifted from Apna Ghar, Merces, to the Ponda ashram on March 31. At 8am on April 1, the administration in charge found the boys missing.
Shirodkar said an offence under Section 363 of the IPC and Section 8 of the Goa Children’s Act has been registered at the Ponda police station. A manhunt has been launched to trace the boys who had been detained for several crimes, including thefts. Sources attached to the ashram said that the boys had been lodged at Apna Ghar based on the order of the child welfare committee of the women and child development department.