Patna, Nov. 29: An 11-year-old runaway boy was recovered from Buddha Colony police station area late last evening.

Patna superintendent of police (SP) Shivdeep Lande said: “We received a complaint that the boy, a resident of Ram Krishna Nagar, went missing from the house after stealing his father’s cellphone and Rs 1,000. Watching crime shows like CID on television had given him a fair idea of how police investigate cases and accordingly, he started dodging his family and us. He used to call up his father claiming that two men were carrying him and used to switch off the cellphone immediately, thereby preventing the police to track the location of the mobile tower.”

The officer added that he called up his father at least 25 to 30 times, telling him about different locations and confusing the men-in-uniform. However, the police ultimately recovered him from Buddha Colony area late on Friday. The boy claimed he had fled home because he was miffed with his father on some issue.

“The boy used to call up his father, stating that he was in a locality, for example, in Arwal district, around 100km from Patna. He used to immediately switch off the cellphone. The police need some time to trace the mobile tower location and the phone needs to be on for at least 7 to 10 minutes. The boy knew this and used to switch off the phone after a maximum of two to three minutes.

The boy gave his father different locations, forcing the police to alert the police station concerned every time.