Patna, Jan. 11: The spate of abductions in a state whose government claims susashan continued unabated with a doctor being taken hostage in Sitamarhi a little after midnight on Tuesday.

Yogendra Prasad, 35, a doctor posted at the primary health centre in Sonebarsa block, about 30km from Sitamarhi, got a knock on the door of his house in Majhaulia village around 1am on Tuesday.

On opening the door, Prasad found a group of men asking him to accompany them to see a patient. As Prasad reached the door of a waiting SUV, he was pushed into the vehicle.

Police, who have launched a massive search operation, said Prasad’s wife and teenage daughter had not received any ransom call till this evening.

The series of kidnappings in the state has sent shockwaves through the police establishment and the government which won a landslide mandate in the recent Assembly elections on the strength of having improved law and order in the state. As many as three children have been kidnapped and killed over the last few weeks.

The police said kidnap gangs were scouting for prospective victims in Sitamarhi, 200km north of Patna. A week ago, S.K. Gupta, the medical officer-in-charge of Belsand block in Sitamarhi had received an anonymous call asking him to pay up Rs 15 lakh.

Majhaulia village where Prasad had his home is close to the Nepal border and the police do not rule out the chances of the captors having crossed over. The Nepalese police have been alerted.

“The doctor was called out of his house in Majhaulia to visit a patient around 1am, but was kidnapped by unidentified persons. Police parties are moving in the line of retreat and Nepal police have also been alerted as the place of occurrence of the crime is very close to the border. The first line of retreat for the criminals is in that direction. Patrolling parties have all been alerted,” Sitamarhi superintendent of police Rakesh Rathi told The Telegraph.

He added that raids were also being conducted to nab the kidnappers.

“Large-scale checking of suspicious vehicles and raids on suspected hideouts are being carried out since last night. The police are on high alert and the doctor will be recovered soon,” Rathi said.

Sources said Prasad’s domestic help, after seeing the men pushing the doctor forcibly into the car, ran towards the SUV and tried to resist them.

The domestic help was, however, beaten up and pushed away before the SUV sped away, sources said.

The incident as well as the extortion call made to the other doctor has alarmed the medical fraternity.

Ranjit Kumar, the spokesperson of the Bihar Health Services Association, said: “This is scary and the state government needs to take some concrete steps to protect doctors.”