In a bizarre turn of events, four Class IX students from St Anthony's Boarding Home, located under the Maharani Peta PS limits in Visakhapatnam, have gone missing from their hostel since Monday evening, December 9.

According to reports, the students, identified as N Kiran Kumar, P Kartik, B Charan Teja, and G Raghu, were last seen leaving the hostel in the Maharani Peta area.

Speaking to The New Indian Express, Maharani Peta Circle Inspector Bhaskar said, "According to the home pastor, the students were shown the movie Lucky Bhaskar on Sunday (December 8). When our team visited the home and questioned other children, they revealed that the four boys spoke about arriving at school in a car. It appears that one of them, who had about Rs 12,000 with him, paid only Rs 8,000 in fees and took the remaining money with him when he left the hostel."

He added, "The search is ongoing, and we hope they will return once the money runs out."

The disappearance was captured on the hostel's CCTV cameras. After contacting the parents, who confirmed their children had not come home, the hostel authorities filed a missing person's case with the Maharani Peta Police.

Authorities are now reviewing CCTV footage from nearby railway stations and bus stands to track the students' movements, stated the report by The New Indian Express.

The police have appealed to the public to share any information that could help locate the missing students. The investigation is ongoing, and a search is underway for the four students.