10-Year-Old Boy Found at Home After 4-Hour Police Search: Hid to Skip Tuition Class

"I thought I'd come out after the teacher left, but I fell asleep," the young boy explained to police officers. (Representational)

In Gorakhpur, a tense four-hour search operation for a missing 10-year-old boy concluded in an unexpected way when police discovered him sleeping peacefully inside his own home, where he had hidden to avoid attending his tuition class.

The child, identified as Lakshya Pratap Singh, a Class 4 student, had gone outside to play around 5 pm on Wednesday but failed to return home, causing his family to fear he had been kidnapped, according to police reports.

Concerned for his grandson's safety, Sadanand Singh filed a complaint at the Chiluatal police station. The authorities immediately circulated Lakshya's photograph across various police stations and WhatsApp groups while conducting thorough searches at railway stations and bus stands throughout the area, police officials stated on Thursday.

When the extensive search yielded no results, SP (North) Jitendra Kumar Srivastava decided to bring in the canine unit for assistance.

Tony, a seven-year-old Doberman from the police dog squad, was given one of Lakshya's shirts to pick up the scent. Within minutes, the trained dog raced upstairs inside the family's home and began barking persistently at a locked room. When police officers forced the door open, they discovered the boy sleeping soundly in a corner.

Upon being awakened, Lakshya admitted that he had hidden himself to avoid his tuition class because he hadn't completed his homework.

"I thought I'd come out after the teacher left, but I fell asleep," he confessed to the police officers.

SP Srivastava explained that multiple search teams had been deployed fearing a potential abduction, but fortunately, the boy was safely reunited with his family. Dhaneshwar Chauhan, the dog squad in-charge, praised Tony's keen instincts for saving valuable time during the search operation.