The interior of the car used in the kidnapping. Telegraph picture

Police on Friday said 24-year-old Anshu Kumari, who was allegedly abducted from Kankerbagh by one Dharmendra, had eloped with the man and both “could have left the city by now”.

Patna senior superintendent of police Manu Maharaaj said: “Prima facie, it seems they have eloped. They have been talking over the phone umpteen times. Last month, Anshu and Dharmendra had spoken over the phone more than 50 times and their conversations were long. She will be recovered soon because we have leads in the case,” the SSP said.

On Monday morning, the college-going girl was forced into a car in the upscale Kankerbagh locality when she was on her way to coaching class, prompting her family to level allegations of kidnapping.

The police said they had acted immediately on receiving information about the kidnapping and had followed the car.

“It might sound strange but the car in which the duo were travelling was hit by our vehicle so that we could stop it. The bonnet of the car was damaged. But the driver (Dharmendra) didn’t lose control and parked the car at a house in Indra Nagar. The couple got out of the car and entered a two-storeyed house. They jumped from one building to the other and finally disappeared. We don’t know how they did it but the houses are inter-connected. It is obvious that the youth was not carrying the girl when they were fleeing. We have some information about their whereabouts and are working on it,” an officer at Kankerbagh police station said.

The officer added that Dharmendra came out of Beur Central Jail just nine days ago.

“He is a strange character. Dharmendra (27) is a rich man who has inherited property worth crores. He has over 50 acres of land in Patna. In Indra Nagar, he owns a lot of houses and has rented out shops too. But he is a hooligan who takes pride in committing petty crimes. He loves bossing around and beating up people without reason. He grabs land and had been to jail in this connection,” the officer said.

He added that while in jail, Dharmendra had gathered that Anshu was getting married to someone else.

“Being a criminal, he immediately gave four men the contract to kill the would-be husband of Anshu. We are trying to track him,” the officer said.