Murshidabad, 29 August (H.S.): Five teenagers have gone missing from Srikrishnapur village in Domkal, Murshidabad, after leaving their homes on Friday saying they were going to attend Jumma prayers at a mosque. However, they reportedly never reached the mosque.

Family members lodged a complaint at Domkal police station late Friday night, following which police launched an investigation and a search operation to trace the missing teenagers.

According to police sources, all five boys live in the same neighbourhood in Srikrishnapur. Four of them study at the same school. They are reportedly between 13 and 15 years old and were close friends who were frequently seen together.

The five teenagers left their homes together on Friday afternoon, telling their families that they were going to offer Friday prayers. When they failed to return home by evening, their families became concerned and began searching for them in the locality. They later learned that the boys had not reached the mosque.

The families approached the police at around 11 pm to midnight, following which officers began efforts to locate the teenagers.

Four of the missing boys are residents of Srikrishnapur, while the fifth is from Kaliganj and had been staying at his maternal uncle's house in Srikrishnapur for his studies.

The maternal uncle said the boy had left home on Friday afternoon saying he was going to attend prayers. He added that the five boys were regularly seen together and often moved around as a group. When the boy did not return by night, the family contacted the police.

Police are examining all possible angles. The preliminary possibility is that the teenagers may have left together in search of work, although investigators have not ruled out the possibility of abduction.

Police have launched a search operation and are gathering information about the boys' movements, possible destinations and people they may have contacted before going missing.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey