Patna: A school student studying in class five of a private school was killed by gangsters in Bihar today after his parents failed to pay a ransom of Rs3 million (Dh171,695), sparking protests in the area.
Police said the Vishnu Raj, 11, who was enrolled in Don Bosco High School in Siwan district was going to his father’s shop on Wednesday when the gangsters kidnapped him. His father, a businessman, came to know of the incident when he reached his home that night.
Subsequently, he registered a case with the local police. In the meantime, he got two calls from the gangsters demanding Rs3 million for the safe release of his son. They also threatened to kill the victim if he failed to oblige.
Reports said based on the mobile location of the gangsters, the police later conducted raids at their hideouts twice and were about to reach near them when they killed the hostage and dumped his body along the road.
The recovery of the body sparked protests in the area as angry villagers blocked roads, burnt tyres and set a police vehicle on fire to protest the killing of the schoolboy. The police have promised the immediate arrest of the criminals.
This is the first major killing in a kidnap case in Bihar post Janata Dal United (JD-U) leader Nitish Kumar’s forming of a government with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in July after breaking an alliance with the erstwhile ruling Grand Alliance.
As per an official report, a total of 16 people were kidnapped for ransom this year. Last year, 37 persons were kidnapped, 58 in 2015, 62 in 2014 and 70 in 2013.
The police report also said 3,684 people were kidnapped for various reasons until July this year. Last year, 7,324 people had been kidnapped, 7,127 in 2015, 6,570 in 2014 and 5,506 in 2013.
