Monday, January 31 2005 12:29 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Patna: A group of women continued relay fast while students offered mass prayers as the protests continued unabated for the release of school children kidnapped from different parts of the State over the past fortnight.

Vinod Singh Convenor of a social organisation 'Oxygen', which is coordinating the protests said that the Gandhian way of protests by the women and students would continue to press for release of the kidnapped students.

He claimed that women continued to stage relay fast at the office of 'Oxygen' on Boring road in Patna, while students offered mass prayers on their school campuses.

"As the final examinations are drawing close we have advised the students to carry fruits instead of taking tiffins for lunch to their schools," Singh said.

The students had earlier altogether stopped taking tiffins as a mark of protest. Even as the three kidnapped students remained traceless, Ranjan Kumar, a standard four student of Diamond Public School, was suspected to have been kidnapped on January 28 from Jehanabad.

Ten people, including mother and sister of Vicky, a close associate of gangster Chunnu Thakur, now lodged in Hajipur jail, have already been taken into custody in connection with the kidnapping of Kislay, a student of DPS, from near his Patel Nagar residence while going to board the school bus on January 19.

Ravikant, a student of DAV public school, Biharsharif, was kidnapped on January 24, while Dipak Kumar, another student of DAV public school, Bhagalpur went missing a day later.