The 18-year-old boy, who had left home on May 3 after his mother forced him to appear for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), returned on Sunday morning. Rakesh (name changed) spent eight days alone in Tirupati, and after returning told his family members that he wanted to relax ahead of other exams.

Sharath, a relative of Rakesh, said that he came back from Tirupati in a train. "He survived on just Rs 800 and would wait in a queue to get darshana every day at Tirupati temple. He then used to meditate at the ashram. This was the first time that he went out alone without informing his family members," he added.

Rakesh's relatives had earlier filed a missing complaint and even posted his photographs on social media. "We used to call Hanumanthanagar police station every now and then to get updates. With his return, we can now heave a sigh of relief," Sharath added.

Rakesh had scored 92% in the pre-university course exam and his mother was keen on him writing the NEET exam. However, he didn't have any interest to pursue medicine. Before running away from his house, he had even penned a letter stating that he was not interested in doing a course in medicine.