Two Indian teenagers who went missing in Doha over the Eid break have returned home safely, the father of one of the boys has said.

Speaking to Doha News, Kamlesh Gupta said his son Saurabh Gupta and friend Arun Jose, both 16 years old, came back last night, more than a week after disappearing in Doha.

Their parents, community members, school officials and the Indian embassy became involved in search efforts for the boys. But it turned out that the teens, who were oblivious to media reports about their disappearance, had simply wanted to have fun.

When reached by phone this afternoon, Gupta said:

“They are ok – for them it was picnic. They were not aware of anything – they just wanted to be away from home.”

The boys, 10th graders at the MES Indian School, were last seen after class let out on Wednesday, Oct. 9. Their parents initially suspected they disappeared by choice, after some QR10,000 had gone missing from Jose’s home.

Earlier this week, Gupta told Doha News he thought the boys “were having fun at (the expense of) our pain.”

Thoughts?

Credit: Photo for illustrative purposes only by Ben Askew