Tuesday, February 8 2005 15:46 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Samastipur: Harsh Ranjan, a student of Standard VII, was rescued by police from the clutches of kidnappers barely two days after his captivity, senior police official said.

Police Superintendent Meghnath Ram told sources in Samastipur that acting on a tip-off by eight persons who were subjected to marathon interrogation in custody, a police team headed by him raided a house under Harpur Pusa police station and recovered the boy.

Ram said four persons were also taken into custody during the raid and the boy was handed over to his family.

Heavily-armed dacoits had looted the house of a retired principal of a school, Ramanarayan Prasad Singh, on Saturday (Feb 1, 2005) night and abducted his 12-year-old nephew Harsh Ranjan at gun point, he said, adding one country-made pistol was recovered during today (Feb 8, 2005) police raid.

Harsh Ranjan is son of Vishnudeo Prasad, brother of the retired principal.

Earlier, kidnapping of Kislay, a student of Delhi Public School (DPS), and Dipak and Ravikant, students of DAV public schools in Bhagalpur and Biharsharif, had triggered widespread protests in the State.

Students and their guardians staged relay fast, offered mass prayers and gheraoed the Raj Bhavan to press for their release.

While Kislay and Dipak were released by their kidnappers just a day before the first phase of Assembly polls in Bihar on Feb 3, 2005, Ravikant returned to his Biharsharif house yesterday.