A 16-year-old student in Kota who left his hostel for a routine test on Sunday, February 11, has been missing for the last three days and was last captured on CCTV entering a forest area, police said on Tuesday, February 13.

Rachit Sondhya, a native of Madhya Pradesh, was taking coaching for the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) from a Kota institute for over a year, said a PTI report.

On February 11 noon, Sondhya left his hostel room in the Jawahar Nagar police station area of Kota, Rajasthan, for a routine test.

In CCTV footage, he was seen taking a cab. The student reached Garadiya Mahadev temple from where he was last seen entering the forest area, police said.

Sondhya's bag, mobile, room keys and other belongings were recovered from near the temple late evening on February 12, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Bhawani Singh said, adding that a search operation by police is underway but the teen is still untraceable.

The JEE aspirant's parents reached Kota and lodged a missing complaint on February 11 evening after they failed to reach out to their son as his phone was switched off, police further informed.

According to family members, Sondhya's parents were concerned about his excessive use of his mobile that distracted him from studies and he had reportedly locked his mobile two times in past to quit this habit, PTI added.