Two inmates of a government boys’ home fled from the facility in Royapuram early on Sunday. They were found later.
Sources with the Kasimedu police said the Government Children’s Home for Boys on S.N. Chetty Street was opened in 1988 and housed 84 children from the districts of Chennai, Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram.
Most of the inmates were rescued from child labour, remanded for juvenile offences or found roaming about on the streets without adult supervision.
“There have been several instances of children fleeing from the Home as security provisions in the facility are inadequate. The authorities do not file a complaint either. On Sunday too, they did not file a complaint,” said an officer at the Kasimedu police station.
The incident happened around 12.30 a.m. after the children were put to sleep. Two boys, aged 11 years and 14 years and housed in the same room, opened the door using a small iron strip.
They were rescued from child labour when found doing odd jobs, including arranging horse rides on the Marina. They were brought to the Home on January 31 and were undergoing preliminary training in vocational courses under the Sarva Sishyan Abhiyan programme.
One of the boys belongs to Korukkupettai and ran away to meet his grandmother. The other boy has family living in the housing quarters near Marina beach. He fled to meet his mother.
Both were nabbed at their houses after the police traced phone calls made by them.
Every month, on an average, at least 80 new children are sent to the Home in Royapuram. The inflow of children from Bihar, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra has doubled but the Home is understaffed.
“Sunday’s incident is the second such escape bid here after last July when 34 children fled from the Home,” said an official at the facility.
