MUMBAI: The caretaker of a hostel-cum-boarding school in Kandivali West has been booked for allegedly assaulting two 11-year-old boys, prompting them to run away from the institution.Hostel warden booked for assaulting two boysThe incident came to light after personnel of the Dadar Government Railway Police (GRP) found the two boys loitering unattended at Dadar railway station on Saturday. The boys were taken to the GRP police station, where officers learnt that they had fled from Swagat Ashram, a residential institution in Ganesh Nagar, Kandivali West, after allegedly being assaulted by a staff member.According to the police, one of the boys told investigators that he had been living with his parents and younger brother in Mankhurd. Following frequent disputes between his parents, he moved to his grandmother’s house. After his father died in September 2025, his mother admitted him and his younger brother to Swagat Ashram for their further education and care.The boy alleged that on Friday, he and his cousin, who also resides at the institution, were assigned the task of filling water containers between 4 am and 5 am. They subsequently went back to sleep and failed to report for kitchen duty scheduled at 6 am.According to his statement, Rajesh Kumar, 21, a caretaker at the institution, found the boys sleeping and threw a bottle at his cousin. The boy alleged that Kumar, who uses a prosthetic leg, later confronted him in the kitchen, punched him twice in the back, grabbed him by the throat and slapped him.The two boys then decided to flee the institution. According to the police, their friend borrowed ₹100 from a local vegetable vendor and gave it to the boys, helping them flee. The boys travelled by autorickshaw to Kandivali railway station and boarded a local train to Dadar, intending to travel to the boy’s mother in Ahilyanagar district.After reaching Dadar station, the boys inquired about trains to Ahilyanagar and were waiting on a platform when GRP personnel noticed them and intervened.“Based on the complaint lodged by the children, we have registered a case against Rajesh under Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, and Section 115 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita,” said a police officer. The accused has not yet been arrested.