Teen girls who ran away from Bijnor found in Ludhiana after 23 days

Bijnor: Twenty-three days after two minor girls from separate villages in Bijnor disappeared, UP Police traced them to Punjab's Ludhiana and reunited them with their families. The 14-year-old Class 9 student and the 17-year-old Class 12 student had left home on Nov 15 saying they were going to school but never arrived. Both studied at the Govt Girls' Inter College in Bijnor. After their families failed to find them, missing person reports were filed on Nov 18 at the Kotwali City police station.Bijnor SP Abhishek Jha said the girls first took a bus from Bijnor to Saharanpur, then boarded a train to Bandra and got off in Surat, Gujarat. From there, they travelled to Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh and later took a train to Ludhiana. "Preliminary investigations revealed they had only Rs 2,000 in cash, and one of them sold her earrings to buy tickets," Jha said.The girls reached Ludhiana on Nov 20, found work at a textile factory, and began living in a rented room. Police said both left home seeking "a free and independent life". The younger girl was distressed by strict restrictions at home, while the Class 12 student faced pressure to marry instead of continuing her studies.Family members had held protests outside the police station for days, demanding swift action. Tensions rose further as the Class 12 girl belonged to a minority community. With pressure mounting, the SP deployed police teams across 67 railway stations from Saharanpur to Bandra to examine CCTV footage. Raids were also conducted at over a dozen locations including Haridwar, Ghaziabad, Delhi and Chandigarh.After they were brought back to Bijnor on Tuesday, the girls were sent to the local One Stop Centre, part of the govt's Sakhi scheme, which offers support for women in distress. They were also produced in court on Wednesday, where their statements were recorded.

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