Six, including five students, go missing in Erode district

According to the police, Subash and Mounesh, both aged 15, and studying in Class 10 along with their friends S Gopinath, S Muthuraja and M Soundar, all aged 16 and studying in Class 11 had gone missing with another boy identified as Ajith, 18. 

All the boys hailed from different villages in Gobichettipalayam and were studying in the same school. 

Eldest among them, Ajith, was working in a petrol pump in the neighbourhood. “The boys had gone to school on Wednesday but did not return home in the evening. Their shocked parents searched for them and enquired with their classmates, but were clueless regarding their whereabouts,” the police said. As the boys didn’t return home, their panicked parents lodged a complaint at the Gobichettipalayam police station on Thursday. Initial inquiries by the police revealed that the boys had gone to the Gobichettipalayam bus stand and reached Erode. From there, the boys had planned to proceed to Chennai, said the police. 

The Gobichettipalayam police have alerted the Chennai City police to be prepared to rescue the missing students, if they reach the city. Muthuraja had reportedly left the house with Rs 2,000 in cash and a cellphone. 

Police suspect that the boys may have fled to skip their examinations as the Class 10 board exams are commencing on Friday and the Class 11 exams are already under way. Further inquiries were on.