In Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh, India, a male eighth-grader recently faked his own kidnapping because he wished not to return to school.
Local police were anxiously looking for the boy for over 10 hours. However, inconsistencies in the statement of his younger brother, a student in the seventh grade, eventually led to the police finding the boy in Ayodhya district.
The parents of the children called them last Monday afternoon according to Barabanki Superintendent of Police Dinesh Singh.
The children went to school at the end of summer, only for the younger brother to return home to inform their parents that the elder brother had been “kidnapped by some miscreants in a car from outside the school,” according to the police.
As per the SP's statement, 10 teams were formed, one of which visited the spot, checked CCTV footage and even took statements from vendors and shopkeepers. They found out that no such incident around the school was validated from these sources.
Additionally, the younger brother's statements had gaps in them. According to him, he was in the washroom when the “kidnapping” happened. When interrogated about how he got to know of this “kidnapping” despite being in the washroom, he broke down and told the police that his brother had made plans to bunk school.
Besides, CCTV footage shows that the boy left school along with one of his school friends, who were both boarding a bus to Ayodhya.
"We spoke to other friends of the boy and it surfaced that the person accompanying him was also his friend," said Additional SP (North) Ashutosh Mishra. Both of them were found in Ayodhya on Tuesday.
According to the children, they initially made a visit to the temple, then proceeded to enjoy lunch.
"Asked why he had staged his own kidnapping, the boy told us that he enjoyed his summer break and wanted to skip school for a few more days," the additional SP said.
