A 17-year-old Delhi boy, missing since February 21, was found on Monday at a slum in Tamil Nadu’s Krishnagiri district. The boy from Rohini had fled home to evade Class 11 exams and travelled over 2,000 kilometres to work as a labourer at a construction site in Tamil Nadu, an official said.

A missing case was registered in Budh Vihar police station on February 21.

“The boy was studying in Class 11 in a reputed school at Connaught Place and had no interest in studies,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Vikram Singh said, adding that he did not want to write the exams.

Boy’s message

After leaving the house, the boy, in a message to his father, urged not to search for him, said the officer. The boy contacted a known person in Bengaluru and reached there by train, he added.

“He started working as a labourer at a construction site near the Tamil Nadu-Karnataka border. When the team found him, he was residing in a slum,” the DCP said.

According to a police source, the boy never liked the school and felt like he didn’t fit in that culture.