PATNA: Two schoolboys who had been abducted from near their homes in Patna and Bettiah in Bihar were found murdered on Friday, prompting the Opposition parties to slam the Nitish Kumar-led NDA government over the deteriorating law and order situation.
The body of 14-year-old Rounak Kumar, the son of a property dealer in Patna’s Agamkuan, was recovered by police inside a closed shop in the area. Rounak, a student of class IX at Keshav Vidya Mandir, was abducted on Thursday while on his way to school. His abductors had demanded a ransom of Rs 25 lakh from his father, Sudhir Kumar.
“The boy was abducted on a two-wheeler and held captive inside the shop owned by Vicky Kumar, who demanded the ransom and strangled him to death when he thought the money was not coming. We will recommend this case for speedy trial,” said Patna SSP Manu Maharaaj.
Vicky, 18, who lived in the same area as Rounak, had been friends with him. After his arrest, he told journalists he sought the ransom as had to pay back a loan of Rs 3 lakh and needed money to spend on his gift items shop.
Another man arrested for the abduction and murder, Parsuram Paswan, is the son of former RJD legislator from Fatuha, Om Prakash Paswan, said sources. Police, however, did not present him before the media. The SSP’s failure to mention this accused raised many eyebrows about the functioning of police.
In Bettiah in West Champaran district, the body of seven-year-old Veer Kumar Singh was recovered from the tank of a newly built toilet in the town. The boy, son of a farmer, was abducted eight days ago and was apparently sodomised before being killed, said SP Jayant Kant.
With six people, including these two children, having been killed in Bihar in the last 24 hours, the Opposition RJD, Congress and CPI(ML) attacked the Nitish Kumar-led government for failure to contain lawlessness in the state.
“There is now not only jungle raj in Bihar but also a reign of terror enforced by criminals. The CM has failed to protect the lives of ordinary citizens. He should resign immediately,” said Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Tejaswi Yadav of RJD.