Cloth merchant goes missing

Gopalganj: Family members of a cloth merchant in the town, Nitesh Kumar Sigrewal, on Tuesday lodged a missing complaint at Town police station after he did not return home on Monday evening. The police, after launching a preliminary search for Sigrewal, suspect he was kidnapped on Monday night.

Sigrewal owns three big shops in the town. The police have constituted teams to nab abductors and recover the businessman. Around 10.30am on Tuesday, the police found Sigrewal’s motorcycle and slippers near Ganga nursery along National Highway 28. Bloodstains were found at the spot.

Superintendent of police (SP) Vinod Kumar Chaudhary and additional superintendent of police Anil Kumar also reached the spot.

According to Sigrewal’s family, he had received a call on his cellphone around 8pm on Monday and left on his motorcycle. When he did not return, his family started looking for him and finally lodged a complaint with the police on Tuesday. They said two days ago, Chandan Kumar, a goldsmith in town, had quarrelled with Sigrewal over a land dispute.

SP Chaudhary said three persons, including Chandan, have been taken into custody and are being interrogated.

Bribe cuffs on clerk

Patna: State vigilance sleuths on Tuesday nabbed Shiv Shankar Kumar, a clerk in the district education office, Gaya, while he was accepting a bribe of Rs 10,000. Complainant Shashi Ranjan, a teacher in a government school in the district, had approached the vigilance bureau claiming that the clerk was demanding money from him in lieu of releasing a bill of honorarium payment.

BJP order

Patna: The BJP on Tuesday decided to cancel the suspension of all party leaders who were suspended in 2010 for contesting elections without a party ticket. Sources said it is an apparent move to bring back the disgruntled leaders to the party fold.

China jab

Patna: BJP spokesperson Vinod Narayan Jha on Tuesday criticised the alleged silence of the defence ministry over the issue of Chinese incursion in the past few days. Jha claimed the Centre lacked the ability to safeguard the interests of the country.

Artiste protest

Patna: Artistes, demanding the reconstitution of the Bihar Sangeet Natak Akademi, continued their agitation in Patna for the sixth day on Tuesday. The protesters have been staging their dharna outside the Premchand Rangshala. Among the other demands of the artistes include ensuring their contribution in the management of Premchand Rangshala.

Nitish review

Patna: Chief minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday chaired a high-level meeting to review the works being done by the public health and engineering department. A press note said Nitish directed the department’s officials to have GPS survey-based data on hand pumps so that the government knows how many of them are functional. Depending on the records, a plan can also be made for sinking hand pumps.