A 12-year-old boy who was missing since January 21 in Karnataka's Bengaluru has finally been found in Telangana's Hyderabad after days of a massive social media campaign to trace him.
Thanks to social media, a Bengaluru resident on a visit to Hyderabad, saw a boy resembling the pictures she had on her phone due to the search campaign, on the same metro as her, a news agency PTI report said on Wednesday.
The boy, Parinav, was last seen on January 21 when he left his coaching centre in Whitefield in Bengaluru and never returned home. While a manhunt was launched to trace him, the boy gave a leg up to the cops who tracked him through CCTV footage to a place but failed to find him there.
The police hit a dead-end at Majestic bus station – the fulcrum of Bengaluru that connects the city to every other corner in the state and beyond.
This is when social media stepped in and posters of the boy were circulated widely online.
A Bengaluru resident identified on a visit to Hyderabad through the pictures on her phone confronted him, after which the kid confirmed his identity and was detained at the Nampally metro station.
WATCH
Sukesh, Parinav’s father, said they don't know how he ended up there, adding that they will update once they have more details on reaching Hyderabad.
“We ourselves don’t know the exact details of how he ended up there. We are now rushing to Hyderabad to pick him up, will update once we know all the details,” said Parinav’s father, a software engineer residing in Whitefield.
"But I really want to thank all those nameless strangers who helped us in finding my boy. Without his picture being splashed all over, the person in Hyderabad would never have thought to stop a boy and ask," he said.
Parinav’s mother, who had earlier posted a video urging him to return home, which was also widely circulated on social media, has now posted another video, thanking all those who helped them find the boy, a Cass 6 student, who has been handed over to Nampally railway authorities.
(with PTI inputs)
