Patna, Dec. 6: The recovery of the bodies of two boys from Gopalganj and Aurangabad has sparked fears among the residents of the state. Both the boys had been allegedly kidnapped before being murdered.

Nitin, a Class IX student of a Mirganj-based school in Gopalganj, was allegedly kidnapped on November 27. His uncle and former mukhiya, Raja Ram Choudhary, claimed two motorbike-borne criminals had abducted the boy from his village. The body of the 14-year-old student was found at a sugarcane field on the outskirts of Samrej village yesterday.

The other victim, Vivek Kumar (10), was missing since May 6. His skeleton was also recovered yesterday from a borewell on the outskirts of Gaura village under Rishiup police station. Vivek, a resident of Jalpa in Jharkhand’s Palamu district, had come to the state to attend a marriage. His father, Mahendra Mehta, had lodged a kidnapping case with Rishiup police station.

Nitin’s family blamed the police for showing a lackadaisical attitude.

Choudhary said Nitin’s kidnappers had demanded a ransom of Rs 6 lakh. “We reported the matter to the police. They, however, lodged a missing complaint and claimed that it was not an abduction, but a love affair.”

He added that the police inaction led to the boy’s death. “Had the police taken the incident seriously and launched an investigation immediately, the boy could have been rescued alive.”

Nitish’s father, Magister Choudhary, works in a private firm abroad.

Gopalganj superintendent of police (SP) K.S. Anupam said the body has been sent for post-mortem. “It won’t be justified to make any comment before we get the autopsy report,” she said, adding that the accused would be brought to book soon.

Sources said in Aurangabad, too, police had clues but decided to take it slow.

Mehta, in his complaint, had named Surendra Mehta, a resident of Gaura village, whom he suspected to be involved in the kidnapping.

Rishiup police station house officer Ramashish Mehta said Surendra is out on anticipatory bail at present. “I am waiting for the instruction from my seniors,” he said. Ramashish added that the skeleton had been sent for forensic examination.

The relatives of other missing persons also reacted sharply to the news of the recovery of the two bodies. One of them said: “There has been a spurt in the kidnap of children, especially school boys, in the state. The police should do something about it.”