Mumbai News: Parel Teen Leaves Home After Scoring Poor Marks, Traced Back With Help Of Face Recognition Technology

A Parel-based, 15-year-old boy, unable to face his parents as he scored poorly in his term examination, decided to run away from home – with five t-shirts, pants and Rs. 5,000. The search operation by the police helped find the boy, thanks to the sophisticated facial recognition technology (FCT) CCTV cameras installed at railway stations.

On September 25, the class 10 boy, studying in a reputed school in Parel got his progress card for the term examination or preliminary examinations. His class teacher asked all the students to get their parents’ signatures on the progress card. As he scored fewer marks than average, the boy hesitated to show it to his parents, yet he wanted a signature. According to Bhoiwada police, he scribbled on the spot where the percentage is mentioned and asked his mother to sign, which she did without much attention to detail. The next day, on 26, his class teacher noticed the scribble and realised the mischief of the boy. She called up his parents and informed them the same, also mentioning his original marks.

After school, the boy went to his house quietly and left immediately after saying he was going to his tuition. What his mother didn’t notice is that the boy, instead of carrying his books, took some of his clothes, and Rs. 5,000 from the locker, intending to leave home forever.

The victim’s father, who has a real estate business, reached home at around 6 p.m. and noticed his son didn’t reach home, who usually returns from tuition by 5 p.m. After searching every possible spot, the father approached the Bhoiwada police, who after registering a case of kidnapping (since the victim is underage) started looking for him.

 “It was the last days of Ganpati, there was so much rush on all routes and roads. We informed all nearby, neighbouring police stations about the boy missing, with his photographs. During the initial days, we got to know that a boy, with similar features and characteristics to the missing boy, was roaming in the Lalbaugh, and Kalachowky areas, but since these areas were heavily crowded owing to Ganpati, we couldn’t trace him. The next spot for the search was railway stations, so accordingly we alerted the GRP – railway police to keep an eye on the minor boy if he gets spotted at the railway station and its premises,” said an official from Bhoiwada police.

The team deployed for a search operation, led by PSI Sachin Bhorse, spotted the boy at Dadar railway station. At first, he was seen simply sitting at the benches of the platform, then he was seen boarding a Churchgate train. The police added that the boy used to get down at stations like Prabhadevi, Marine Lines, Churchgate, then would come back to Dadar station. The FCT CCTV cameras helped the cops to scan him through different areas of platforms, or various railway stations. The ‘alert’ feature of these cameras, alerted the cops when he was spotted between the crowd.

He sometimes was seen exiting the railway station and sitting on the footpath. Police personnel were put on standby at all these expected police stations, but the boy kept escaping unknowingly until Wednesday morning when he exited Dadar railway station, on the east side. “He came outside and started walking near the Swami Narayan Temple from where he was picked up by us. He was handed over to his parents, safe and sound,” said the official.

Read Also

Youth Saves Drowning Teenager's Life in Palghar Lake