After nearly 35 hours of an extensive search, two girls who had gone missing from Kerala’s Malappuram were found in Lonavala, Maharashtra. Parents of one of the missing girls received information from the Kerala police that the girls were found at around 2am on Friday, March 7. Both girls are natives of Tanur in Malappuram and students of Class 12.
The girls left their homes on Wednesday, March 5 to attend the exam but did not report at the school. Teachers noticed their absence and informed the parents, and they lodged a complaint with the police. The police investigation revealed that the students had travelled to Maharashtra. Police in Maharashtra and the Malayali community alerted the Kerala police about the girl’s presence in Panvel.
In Panvel, they visited a salon to cut hair and do straightening treatment. According to reports, a man whom they befriended on Instagram had also accompanied them to Maharashtra.
Media reports quoting the owner of the Lasya Saloon, who is from Kerala, said the girls had stated that they came to Panvel to attend a marriage function. They took hair treatment worth Rs 10,000 from her salon. “They came here around 2pm. They didn’t speak English and one of my staff members informed me about their presence. They said they lost their phone on the train. I gave them my phone to contact their friend. They did treatment worth 10,000 from my saloon,” Lucy Prince said.
Currently, the girls are at the Pune Railway Protection Force (RPF) office. The Kerala police are on their way to Pune to take the girls home.