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UAE: Parents of missing Indian teen, aged 15, issue urgent appeal to find him

The Grade 10 student left his home after lunch time on Wednesday.

Parents of a 15-year-old Indian teenager, based in Sharjah, have issued an urgent appeal to find their son. Anav Seth, a Grade 10 student of Delhi Private School, Sharjah, has allegedly been missing since the afternoon of March 16.

According to Anav’s father, Mohit Seth, Anav left his home after lunch time on Wednesday. CCTV footage from his residential building’s lobby in Sharjah’s Al Taawun area showed Anav leaving his home Wednesday afternoon.

His father said Anav was wearing a black jacket, black jeans and carrying a black backpack when the left home. “He is five foot seven, has a fair complexion, and is of medium build. He responds to the name Anav and some of his friends call him Ani,” Seth told Khaleej Times.

“He is not carrying his phone with him; none of his identification documents are with him. We suspect he may have Dh2,000 with him. It’s all his pocket money,” Anav’s father added.

The Delhi-native family said Anav left a note for his parents and snuck out of his home while his mom and sister were sleeping. The family have registered a missing persons report with the Buhairah Police Station in Sharjah. Khaleej Times has reached out to Sharjah Police for an official statement regarding this case. A response is awaited.

A distraught Seth explained, “It happened after lunch time. My wife and daughter went to sleep after lunch and he was studying. When they woke up, we found that he’d left a note and left home.”

He added, “The note he left read, ‘I am sorry, I am not the son you deserve’. We are in complete shock and are really worried for his safety.”

The parents suspect Anav may have been suffering from severe academic stress as his Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Grade 10 examinations were fast approaching. “However, this too is very surprising as Anav got good marks during his first term Grade 10 exams. His parents got him a watch as a gift since he scored good grades,” said Dr Mehnaz Zafar Ali, a consultant psychiatric and a close family friend.

“His Grade 10 pre-board examinations are ongoing,” Seth added. Dr Ali added, “We are heartbroken something like this has happened. Anav’s parents are very chilled out and supportive. I also suspect the additional stress of students studying online over the past two months due to Covid may have added to his mental stresses.”