Malappuram: The Plus One students who went missing from Tanur will be brought back to Kerala on Saturday. The girls, found in Pune, have been handed over to Tanur Police. The police team accompanying the students from Pune is expected to reach Tanur by Saturday noon.

The students were found by the Railway Protection Force (RPF) at Lonavala railway station near Pune at around 2 am on Friday. The Kerala Police, in collaboration with the Railway Police, tracked the mobile phone location of the girls, which helped in locating them quickly.

The families of the girls expressed their relief upon learning that the students were found. They had also interacted with the girls through a video call. The girls had left home on Wednesday around 11 am, claiming they were heading to Devadhar Government Higher Secondary School for exams. When they left home, one girl had Rs 5 and the other had Rs 200 with them.

During their journey, they purchased mobile phones, clothes and even visited a salon for a haircut. The police are investigating how the girls managed to obtain money for these expenses.

"After bringing the children back, we will conduct a detailed inquiry and provide counselling," Malappuram SP R Vishwanath told the media.

The police learned that the girls had travelled to Mumbai from Kozhikode with a man from Edavanna, whom they had met through Instagram. Based on the investigation, the girls were eventually found at Lonavala station in Maharashtra.

Railway officials identified the girls using the photographs provided by the Kerala police while they were travelling on the Chennai Egmore Express.