Howrah, Dec. 22: The manner in which Ganesh Palodhi was abducted and the discovery of his body so close to his Bauria residence indicate that he was kidnapped by ?some people who knew him?, the police said today.

Ganesh was riding his cycle in front of his house when he disappeared on December 3 around 11 am. There were people on the road and no one noticed anything untoward. It was only when Ganesh did not return home till the evening that his father Siddhartha, a local businessman, lodged a complaint with the police.

?It seems the child accompanied the men without hesitation when they called him. This indicates he was very familiar with them,? said Chayan Mukherjee, inspector-general of police (law and order). The police are now investigating the ?insider angle? and trying to figure out whether there was any business rivalry involved.

R.K. Mohanty, the additional director-general of the CID, which is now investigating the case, said that another pointer to the ?insider angle? was the fact that the abductors seemed to be aware of Siddhartha?s movements.

?The ransom calls were made to the Palodhi home only when Siddhartha was present, like when he came home for lunch,? Mohanty said. ?It seems that someone was tipping off the abductors; someone who was aware of Siddhartha?s movements.?

Though the police are investigating whether there was any business rivalry involved, Siddhartha today pleaded ignorance about it. ?I am not sure about anyone being a rival to my business plans. It?s up to the police to find out. I want those behind the murder of my son to be identified and hanged,? Siddhartha said, on his way to collect the body from Calcutta Medical College, late today.

Policemen, who are grilling two persons arrested earlier and another four detained in the case so far, are now trying to find out if they were aware of Siddhartha?s background. ?This is necessary to make out who all were close to Siddhartha and knew details about his business dealings. It could be that someone from this list played a key role,? said an officer.

Mohanty also said that the case was ?unique?. ?This is so because the amount, to be collected as ransom, as well as the child?s body was found within a radius of 50 metres from the child?s house. On no occasion in the past have kidnappers demanded the ransom amount at a place so close to the site of kidnapping,? Mohanty said.

However, to keep no stone unturned, the police are also checking the veracity of the statements Siddhartha has made to the police so far. ?We are going through all the statements he has given as well as the phone numbers from where he received calls from the abductors to figure out what really happened,? an official said.