If you have seen Santosh, call Manoj on 9869137934 or Jaggi on 9324624905

Their only son Santosh Pillai is missing for more than 10 days, but the one solace his parents Subramaniam and Manorama Pillai have is that the entire neighbourhood is working hard to find their boy.

Fifteen-year-old Santosh Pillai, a resident of Chembur Camp and a Class 10 student of National Sarvodaya School, ran away from home on Jan 3 and is missing since then. He was allegedly scolded and beaten up by his tuition teacher the day he left home.

The parents have filed an NC with Chembur police station, though the complaint does not hold the teacher responsible for the turn of events. Santosh took tuitions from Maqbool Sheikh, a local teacher.

Sunil Kathpal, Santoshs neighbour, says, Santosh is like our child. Its our duty to trace the kid. Around 25 men from the neighbourhood have formed small groups that go in search of the child everyday.

We all gather in one place every morning and plan the search, says Kathpal. The men have looked for the boy in areas in and around Chembur. We have also visited childrens homes in Vashi, Mankhurd, Dongri, etc, he adds.

Arun Kithani, another neighbour, says, We will try our best to get Santosh back home. We will not give up till we find him.

Santoshs neighbours (LtoR) Manoj Wadhwani, Arun Kithani, Vipul Pathak, Sunil Kathpal, Sanjay Jaiswal

The neighbours have printed hundreds of missing posters that have been stuck at important public places in Chembur. We are also trying to get Santoshs photographs printed in newspapers and aired on TV, says Kithani.

Manoj Wadhwani, another neighbour, says, I am sure our efforts will bear fruit. But we are getting worried for Santoshs safety because its been 10 days since he went away.

All the residents carry pictures of Santosh with them all the time. We are on a mission to distribute his photographs to all the police stations and children's homes, adds Wadhwani.

The women of the colony, meanwhile, are making sure that Manorama is not left alone. We are always with her. She is never left alone. We try to make her eat something because she has not had a decent meal ever since Santosh left, says Manda Modhe, Manoramas neighbour.

Manorama denies beating SantoshWhy did I scold him?

Recalling what happened on Jan 3, Manorama says Santosh was upset after he returned home from his tuition classes.

Santosh went for tuition on Jan 2 but soon returned saying none of his classmates or professors were there. The next day Sheikh sir reprimanded him for not waiting long enough for the class to assemble and slapped him, she says, adding, He narrated the incident to me. I told him that I agreed with his tutor and advised him to take his studies seriously.

Manorama feels that her dressing down probably upset Santosh further. He left around 7 pm on Jan 3 and never returned. I went out to check for him every 15 minutes. When I did not find him at 9 pm, I realised he had run away, she says.

However, when Maqbool Sheikh had another story to tell. Santosh had missed the geography test on Jan 2. The next day I quizzed him about the test, but he was blank. I told him to be more attentive.

I admit I slapped him but I did not bash up him. In fact, I have been told that his mother beat him up brutally because he gave the test a miss, says Sheikh.

Responding to Sheikhs allegation Manorama says, I did not beat Santosh. I only scolded him.