Five girls go missing from govt-run school's hostel in MP's Umaria

Umaria, Aug 17 (PTI) Five girls have gone missing from the hostel of a government-run school in Madhya Pradesh's Umaria district, prompting the authorities to constitute a special investigation team to trace them, officials said on Sunday.

The girls, who were Class 8 students, were reported missing from Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Girls' Hostel in the Ginjri area in Pali town in the morning, an official said.

A special investigation team (SIT) of the police has been formed to find them, District Superintendent of Police Nivedita Naidu told reporters.

Hostel assistant warden Sarika Sharma said the girls attended a Janmashtami programme on Saturday night and had dinner, but did not turn up for breakfast at 8 am.

SP Naidu said that investigators have found a note in a notebook belonging to one of the girls, stating, "I want to become something, I want to earn and eat, so I am leaving." She said police were examining CCTV footage and had increased surveillance at bus stands, railway stations and other locations.

Family members of the missing girls have alleged negligence on the part of the hostel management, saying the hostel's gate was broken and there was no boundary wall.

They also claimed that the CCTV cameras at the facility were not working. PTI COR LAL ARU