Three boys aged between eight and 12 who escaped from a government boys’ home in Devanahalli by climbing down from a second-floor balcony were traced within 24 hours and returned to the facility, according to the home staff’s complaint and police officials.
The children left the home near Vijayapura Cross in the early hours of November 3. Staff members said the boys used a gap in the balcony wall to climb down from the second floor. The incident prompted a search across Devanahalli, Doddaballapura and nearby transport points, including the bus stand, railway station and highway.
A 10-year-old boy and his eight-year-old younger brother had been admitted to the home on September 4 following an order of the Child Welfare Committee in connection with a begging case. The third child, aged 12, was admitted on October 30 after a CWC order in a case related to dropping out of school.
According to the complaint, the three boys had dinner as usual on November 2 before going to sleep. Ratheesh, a caretaker, was on duty on the floor where the dormitory was located, while Manjunatha, a house warden, was stationed in the office. The boys were found to have escaped at around 4am the next day.
The home staff immediately began searching for the children and filed a complaint at Devanahalli police station under Section 137 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which concerns kidnapping. Police teams then searched locations linked to the children’s home areas in and around Doddaballapura.
A senior police officer said one of the boys was traced at his grandmother’s house and the other two were found in Doddaballapura. The children were rescued within 24 hours and handed back to the government boys’ home, the officer said.
The incident has drawn attention to the physical security of a residential child-care institution, where children placed under state protection were able to access an opening on an upper-floor balcony. The available account does not specify the size of the gap, whether it had previously been reported or what other safety measures were in place at the building.
Officials have instructed the home to repair the gaps in the balcony walls and take steps to prevent similar incidents. The immediate official response is therefore focused on securing the building and strengthening measures intended to keep children inside the facility.
