Siraha district has become a hotbed of crime
SIRAHA, Feb 21: Siraha district has become a hotbed of crime in the Tarai with eight cases of abduction and three cases of murder in the last two months alone.
In the latest two cases of abduction, police have not yet been able to trace the two abductees even though the victims´ families had provided them the mobile numbers being used by the abductors to call for ransom.
Over two weeks ago, Harinanda Chaudhary, 45, of Bajrahigudhi in Saptari, and Dipendra Chaudhary, 25, of Gamhariya, Maheshpur-9 in Siraha, were abducted by unidentified extortion groups from the district.
The abductors have demanded Rs 2 million from the family of Harinanda and Rs 2.5 million from the family of Dipendra. As the police fail to free the abductees, the families of Harinanda and Dipendra are bargaining for lesser ransoms for their release.
In the last two months, Ram Ikbal Yadav of Bariyarpati-3, Ramkaran Das of Kusaha Laxminiya-9, Sanjay Singh, 16, of Chandraudayapur-9, Shiva Shankar Yadav of Gamhariya Maheshpur, Birendramarbaita Yadav of Kulkaha Katti-4 and a woman from Sarshwar of Siraha have been abducted from the district. All of them were freed after their families paid huge ransoms.
The Siraha district chapter of CPN-UML has accused the police of conniving with local extortion gangs in abducting people for ransom. The government had even formed a probe panel to look into the alleged involvement of police in abduction cases after the Siraha chapter of CPN-UML announced an agitation.
However, CPN-UML leaders have raised questions over the fairness of the panel. By MITHILESH YADAV from Republica