Patna, Aug 28 (IANS) A 14-year-old boy, who last Wednesday failed to return to his home in this Bihar capital, is suspected by his family members to have been kidnapped for ransom. But police Friday said he was only “missing”.
Kumar Prem alias Golu, a Class 8 student of the Patna-based International School, was reported missing Wednesday after he left his home in the posh Indrapuri locality for a fast food outlet nearby.

“We strongly suspect that my son has been abducted,” businessman Sanjay Kumar Singh said.

Police have registered a missing complaint.

“A case has been lodged to find the missing son of Singh. We have begun investigation into the case,” Patna Superintendent of Police Manu Maharaj said.

Prem’s parents are fearful. Bodies of three abducted people, including a minor, have been found from three Bihar districts - Samastipur, Bhojpur and Bagha - in the last two days.

About two weeks ago, skeletons of two youths were recovered from Patna. The skeletons of the two men, both in their 20s, were found in the posh Shivpuri locality here.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, after coming to power in November 2005, had promised to make Bihar a crime-free state within three months. But police records suggest otherwise.

While the chief minister claimed that the number of kidnappings had come down drastically during his rule, such incidents are being reported at regular intervals across the state. Last month, the Bihar government said over 2,000 children had been abducted in the state in the last eight years and the fate of 340 of them was still not known.

According to official reports, 2,167 children were kidnapped between 2001 and 2009. Of them, 1,752 were recovered and 75 killed.