Patna, May 11 A major incident has surfaced from Muzaffarpur district of Bihar, where around 10 children escaped under suspicious circumstances in the early hours on Monday, around 1 am, from a child shelter home located in Narauli under Mushari police station limits.
The incident has triggered panic within the district administration and police department.
As soon as the information was received, Sub-Divisional Officer (East), Tushar Kumar, along with local administrative officials and police personnel, rushed to the spot and initiated an investigation.
During an inspection of the shelter home in Narauli, SDO (East) found 10 children missing.
Preliminary information suggests that the children escaped late at night by either scaling the boundary wall or using another unidentified route, despite existing security arrangements.
So far, no trace of the missing children has been found, raising serious concerns over the functioning of the shelter home and the safety measures in place.
Taking the matter seriously, officials from Mushari police station and the district administration are camping at the site.
Other children residing in the shelter home, along with staff members, are being questioned to determine how the escape occurred.
A formal complaint has been filed at the local police station by the shelter home superintendent.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kantesh Kumar Mishra confirmed the incident and stated that special police teams have been constituted to trace the missing children. CCTV footage from nearby areas is also being closely examined.
He assured that efforts are underway to locate all the children safely at the earliest.
The disappearance of 10 children simultaneously from a government shelter home is being viewed as a major security lapse.
The incident has sparked concern and anger among local residents.
Authorities are also probing whether the escape was due to negligence on the part of the shelter home management or if an external group was involved.
At present, the top priority for the police remains to trace the missing children as quickly as possible.
--IANS
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