Patna, July 25: Police here are faced with an abduction case involving a 20-year-old boy similar to the Saurabh Kumar kidnapping incident.

Seven days after Varun Kumar alias Bantu was abducted from the state capital, the family of the boy lodged an FIR on Tuesday. The abductors had called up the family members demanding Rs 50 lakh.

Saurabh Kumar (16), too, disappeared from his road no. 29 residence at Gardanibagh on November 19, 2011. The police had said the youth left home because of a love affair. Later, on July 19, the police recovered the skeletal remains, allegedly of the boy, after a few arrested criminals pointed out a place where they had killed and buried Saurabh.

In Varun’s case, too, the police are absolutely silent and are not ready to reveal anything. Varun stayed at a lodge on Azad Lane near Choudhary Tola under Sultanganj police station of Patna City for five years. He was preparing for competitive exams.

Sources told The Telegraph that on July 17, the boy left the lodge at around 2pm and never returned. The next day the boy’s family, who resides in Buxar, 160km west of Patna, received a call for ransom of Rs 50 lakh for the safe release of Varun. Sources said the call was made from Varun’s mobile number.

Varun’s mother Mamta Gupta is a block-level government officer with the education department posted in Buxar, said deputy superintendent of police (Patna City) Sushil Kumar.

Gupta, when contacted, refused to speak, however, the officer said that a case (FIR number 117/12) has been lodged and the police were verifying the boy’s whereabouts. “Yes, the FIR has been lodged and the investigation is on,” Sushil said.