26 girls go missing from Bhopal children's home; may have returned home, say cops

A case was registered in connection with the alleged disappearance of 26 girls from a children's home in Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, a police official said on Saturday.

In a video message, Bhopal (Rural) Superintendent of Police Pramod Kumar Sinha said the probe so far has revealed the girls may have left Anchal Children's Home in Parwalia area after feeling homesick.

The news of the disappearance of the girls has also been circulating on social media.

"Some girls who get themselves registered at the facility return home due to various reasons, including finding the stay uninteresting. The investigation so far shows they have returned to their homes. This is being verified further," the SP said in his video message.

The police registered a First Information Report on Thursday on the complaint of district programme officer Ramgopal Yadav against one Anil Mathew for allegedly running the children's home illegally.

As per the complaint, 26 out of 68 girls at the facility, some 20 kilometres from the district headquarters, have gone missing, police said.

Mathew has been booked under relevant sections of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2015, the official said.

Police said Mathew has so far failed to provide a registration certificate for the facility he was running.

SP Sinha could not be contacted for further details, while complainant Yadav said he would call back later.