Friday, January 6 2006 17:55 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Patna: Nitish Kumar Government's claim to check crime within a month of coming to power notwithstanding, the kidnapping of a businessman and son of a Government official yesterday (Jan 5,2006)night has sent shockwaves across the Bihar capital.

Prashant Jain, a garment shop owner, was kidnapped at gunpoint from near his whitehouse apartments residence late last night when he was returning home from shop.

The abductors, who lay in wait for Prashant in a Maruti esteem car, overpowered him when he arrived on a scooter at around 10.30 pm, bundled him into the car and sped away, police sources said, adding the vehicle was seized after a brief encounter with the kidnappers in the wee hours today but all of them managed to escape on foot. On getting the information about Jain's abduction the police had flashed a wireless message across the state to intercept the car (no. Dl-2c-5859).

The car was sighted near Bakhtiyarpur in Patna district and when the police tried to intercept it, its occupants opened fire which was returned. The abductors then escaped on foot under a barrage of fire.

A team of Bihar police and Special Task Force have mounted a search operation in the riverine areas of Mokama and Barh subdivisions in Patna district to rescue Prashant.

Hours before Jain's kidnapping, Naseem Akhtar, son of a Sub-divisional officer, Darbhanga, Naeem Akhtar, left his house in Pataliputra colony to buy a pen but did not return.

15-year-old Naseem, a class VIII student of Don Bosco academy, is suspected to have been kidnapped and an FIR has been registered in this connection with the Pataliputra police station, sources said.