Budhia Singh returns to Odisha, says he was on vacation

Bhubaneswar, Jul 28: After remaining untraced for about a month, wonder marathon boy Budhia Singh returned to Odisha from Mumbai.

Rejecting allegations of his abduction, Budhia said "I was on a holiday with my mother." Stating that he was not taken to anywhere forcibly, Budhia said he would later decide whether to return to the state-run sports hostel, where he was lodged since 2007 after child right activists alleged he was exploited.

Expressing his satisfaction over the film - Budhia Singh—Born to Run - based on her son's life, Budhia's mother Sukantio Singh also said they were on a holiday. Budhia Singh at the age of four came to the limelight after running 65 km between Puri and Bhubaneswar in 2006.

He is now 15-years-old and had gone on summer vacation on May 10 and was supposed to join the sports hostel after vacation on June 7.

The Nayapalli police had registered a case of abduction on the basis of a complaint filed by Child Welfare Committee (CWC) of Khurda district. They later traced Budhia in Tamil Nadu.

PTI