BAITADI: Search operation for a 14-year-old boy, who went missing 18 days ago, is still on, but his whereabouts is still uncertain.

Sunil Chand of Dhanchuli area in Baitadi district has been missing since June 17.

Chand, a ninth grader at local Durgasthan Higher Secondary School, had left for school on the very day, but never returned since then.

He is yet to come into contact with the family, informed his father Harka Bahadur Chand.

The worried father said he came to know that the boy has left for India. "We are worried that he may have fallen into the hands of a human trafficker," he shared.

The family has already lodged a complaint at the District Police Office and the District Administration Office to search for the missing child.

The kin have also searched for the boy in Indian cities and are coordinating with child rights organisations in India.

The boy is five-feet tall with fair complexion and brownish hair. He was wearing a tee shirt, jeans and slippers at the time he went missing.

The incidents of disappearance of children in Baitadi have been increasing recently.