The Commissionerate Police for Bhubaneswar and Cuttack on Sunday said Budhia Singh, the marathon boy who was missing from the sports hostel here, had been traced.
Budhia and his mother, Sukanti Singh, are now in Kodaikanal in Tamil Nadu. Investigating officers called them up on Sunday afternoon.
Commissioner of Police Y.B. Khurania said Budhia along with his mother would now visit Mumbai and were expected to return here in the last week of July.
Earlier in the day, the city police registered a case of kidnapping at a local police station here. Budhia, who was undergoing training at the Bhubaneswar Sports Hostel, had not returned after the summer vacation. Apart from sending notices in Budhia’s name, coaches had gone to his house at Saliasahi, the largest slum of Bhubaneswar, to find him.
Since the boy could not be traced, the Child Welfare Committee, a quasi-judicial body, had on Saturday directed the city police to find him.
The committee had issued notice to Viacom 18 Motion Pictures, which had produced the Manoj Bajpai-starrer Budhia Singh — Born to Run , asking if it knew his whereabouts. The production house had reportedly taken both Budhia and his mother to Mumbai for promotion of the upcoming film. Sports administrators and coaches are of the opinion that the training schedule of Budhia should not be disturbed.
