Missing since two days, five minors found begging

8220;With his brothers, Shubham 7 and Vinay 11, and cousins, Arun 11 and Varun 9, he left for school on Tuesday, and did not return,8221; said a senior police officer. 8220;Their plan was to reach the New Delhi Railway Station and catch a train for Lucknow, but they did not realise they had no money.8221;

Arun8217;s father Rameshwar Dayal said they left at 12 pm for school and 8220;did not come home the entire night.8221;

8220;We dispatched search teams, but they could not be traced. Finally, we lodged a missing complaint at Uttam Nagar Police Station,8221; he added.

At 9.30 am today, a resident of the area spotted the boys begging in a park near Janakpuri Railway Station. He immediately called the PCR and informed their parents about them, the police said. On questioning, Mukesh told the police that his father often scolded him; he also consumed gutka which his father disapproved of.

On Tuesday, after school, the children played near the school to ward off any suspicion about their plan as their uncle was nearby. After leaving the area, when they could not hitch a ride to the New Delhi Railway Station, they resorted to begging and spent two nights in the park near the Janakpuri Metro Station.

Their families live in Hastal Colony, where Dayal works as a carpenter and his brother, Ram Dayal, who is the father of the other three children, is a labourer.