Patna, May 21: A five-year-old boy was kidnapped by three men yesterday, just 300m away from his house in Vikrampur village of Begusarai, around 130km east of Patna.

The boy, Kanhaiya Kumar, was out playing with a few friends when his grandmother saw two men on a bike pick him up and ride away. Police nabbed three people named in the FIR lodged by the boy's family. The boy, however, has not been recovered yet.

Senior police officers said personal enmity was the reason for the kidnap.

"The boy's father, Manish Kumar Singh, is a tanker driver," said Cheriya Baryarpur station house officer Raghavendra Singh.

"The family lodged an FIR accusing three men. We have arrested three people, two of who - Pucho Singh and Vijay Ram - are named in the FIR. We are still looking for the boy."

The officer said prima facie, it appeared to be a case of personal enmity resulting from the panchayat polls.

"Initial investigations suggest that election rivalry is the reason for the abduction," he said. "The family of the victim had voted for a candidate and this had upset the other party. This resulted in the kidnap."

Kanhaiya is the oldest of his three siblings. He has two younger sisters.

Begusarai SP Ranjeet Kumar Mishra ruled out the possibility of a ransom demand.

"The family did not get any ransom calls yet," said Begusarai superintendent of police Ranjeet Kumar Mishra. "The grandmother of the victim is an eyewitness. It has come to light that the accused are relatives of Kanhaiya. So panchayat rivalry may not be a reason. Pucho Singh is the victim's uncle. Family issues could have caused the incident."