Malappuram (Kerala) | Two girl students who went missing from Tanur in this district a couple of days ago were found near Lonavala in Maharashtra the previous night and are being held by police there, Kerala police said on Friday.

A police team from Kerala was dispatched to Maharashtra in the morning and arrived there, an officer of Tanur police station said.

The girls will be handed over to the Kerala police team, which includes women officers, and they will return to Tanur after completing all formalities, the officer said.

The team is likely to return by train, the officer added.

The exact reason behind the girls leaving for Maharashtra is not yet known, the police said.

TV channels had shown videos of the girls going to a hair salon after reaching Panvel in Maharashtra.

Both class 12 students of a government higher secondary school had left home to attend an examination on Wednesday, but never appeared for it, the police had said a day ago.

School teachers informed their family members, following which a complaint was lodged with the Tanur police.

The police, thereafter, during their probe, traced the girls' mobile phone tower locations to Maharashtra.