Giridih, July 23: Twin incidents of an abduction and a robbery has rocked the Maoist-hit Assembly constituency of Bagoder in this district.

While a gang of four armed men kidnapped a relative of MLA Vinod Singh late last night, another cleaned out Rs 8.13 lakh from a rural bank 15 hours later. Police have, however, ruled out Maoist hand in either incident.

Vishwanath Singh, a wine trader and younger brother of the MLA’s brother-in-law Shankar Singh, was riding his bike home to Birni, 60km from the district headquarters, around 9pm when four men in an SUV intercepted him. He was forced into the vehicle at gunpoint and reportedly taken to Rajdhanwar, which is close to the Bihar border.

Talking to The Telegraph, Vinod Singh blamed the deteriorating law and order situation under President’s rule. “I have urged the police and other agencies to look into the matter seriously. It is not just because he is my kin, but because the incident has happened in my seat,” he added.

In the second incident at 1pm today, three men, posing as customers, took the manager of Jharkhand Gramin Bank in Chichaki, 80km from here, in custody and emptied the cash box of Rs 8.13 lakh.

Giridih SP A.V. Homkar said both incidents were pulled off by criminal gangs and not rebels. “Two teams have been formed to nab the abductors and the robbers. Vehicles in the district are being strictly checked. We expect a breakthrough soon,” he said.