Naxals kidnap school boy from hostel, release him later

Suspected Naxalites kidnapped a student from a reputed residential school in Maoist-hit Jamui district in the wee hours of Thursday.

The Maoists released the boy after four hours after making him walk in the jungles and told him to ask his school principal and staff members to vacate the premises within 12 days or be prepared to face similar incidents of kidnapping of students.

Station House Officer of Simultala Police Station Arbind Kumar said that two suspected Maoists kidnapped the Class XI student from Netiyar Boys Hostel of the SimultalaResidentialSchool while he was sleeping around 2 am.

They woke up another student sleeping by his side and told him that they were taking the boy along with them, the SHO said.

A native of Bhojpur district, the kidnapped boy had secured eighth rank in the matriculation examination held by Bihar school examination board results.

The hostel does not have a boundary which made it easy for intruders to enter the hostel and took the boy brandishing arms, the SHO said.

After making the kidnapped boy walk 3-4 km through the jungle, the kidnappers forced him to make a call to his parents about his abduction and also inform the school authority about it, the SHO added.

When police was informed about the incident, the SHO and his team began a search following which the kidnappers released the boy near Teethi Chak village and escaped.

The kidnapped boy is with the police.

SHO Arbind Kumar said the boy told them that the kidnappers had asked him to tell the school principal and staff members to vacate the premises within 12 days or be prepared to face similar incidents of kidnapping of students.

A brain child of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, SimultalaResidentialSchool came up in Simultala in Jhajha Block of Jamui District in 2010.

Superintendent of Police Jaykant has assured adequate security to authorities.

“We are verifying the claim of threat to close the school. The school authorities have been told that there is no reason to fear,” Jaykant said.

The residential school was set up in the state after the NetarhatSchool went to Jharkhand following the bifurcation of Bihar.

The school has a record of producing 30 toppers out of 31 in top 10 of the Bihar School Examination Board in 2015. The students have dominated the International Mathematics Olympiad 2013.