It was a tearful reunion for Akshay Sachdeva (14) on Tuesday with his parents. Missing from his home in Krishna Nagar in Delhi since September 16, city boy Akshay was spotted late on Monday night roaming near the Golden Temple and was taken to the Women and Child Care Centre by the city police.

His parents, who had lodged a kidnapping case, and the Delhi Police, who had launched a hunt for the boy, were informed.

Akshay said he had left home after being unable to cope with the burden of ‘parental pressure’ to do well in studies. With just Rs 300 in his pocket, Akshay took a train from the New Delhi railway station and got off at Ludhiana. Later he made his way to Jalandhar and then to Amritsar.

“I had visited the Golden Temple with my parents two years ago and knew the gurudwara premises well. I ate in the langar hall (community kitchen) of Harimandar Sahib and slept in the open,” Akshay said.

“The boy was wandering near the Golden Temple when policemen spotted him and asked him about his parents. At first he said they were performing sewa in the gurudwara’s langar hall but later broke down”, SSP Amritsar Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh said.

The Sachdevas had lodged a case of kidnapping at the Vikaspuri police station the day boy went missing. SSP Singh said they asked the boy for his address and phone number and established contact with his parents and the Delhi Police.

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