Mumbai, March 9 (MD): A month and a half after she eloped with her student, a 23-year-old school teacher was arrested by the Mumbai crime branch officials, on charges of kidnapping the student — a 14-year-old boy.

The woman and the boy, a ninth standard student, were caught in Bangalore where the former had taken up a job in a mall and the latter took care of their one room rented apartment.

The teacher, identified as Anjali Singh has been charged with kidnapping while the teenager has been handed over to his parents.

The incident was first reported by mid-day on January 28, when the boy, then 13 and Singh vanished. Friends and colleagues told the cops that the two were in touch over the social media app WhatsApp even during school hours.

On January 26, the boy left home telling his parents that he had to return costumes, which he had taken for a school function. When he did not return, his father Bhairav filed a missing persons complaint with the Vakola police station.

The cops found that the boy was last seen with Singh and they learnt about their alleged affair from his classmates. Senior police inspector Deepak Phatangare of crime branch unit 8 who led the investigations, said his sources traced the duo to Bangalore. In her confession, the woman said the two of them had first gone to Goa and then on to Bangalore.

There she took up a job in a mall while the boy stayed at home. Meanwhile for the boy’s family, it was a case of déjà vu. In 2011, their eldest son reportedly left home late at night and has not been found since then.