Patna, Aug. 26: Manas Ranjan Das, a Bhubaneshwar-based veterinary doctor who owned a poultry feed processing unit at Hajipur in Vaishali district, was allegedly kidnapped with his two aides from Giridih in Jharkhand on Wednesday, police said yesterday.

The incident came to the fore when the police seized an abandoned Audi car from GT road near Dumari in Giridih district of Jharkhand.

The alleged kidnappers have demanded Rs 5 crore as ransom for Das's safe release.

His wife Dolly Dutta said her husband was returning to Bhubaneshwar from Hajipur through Dhanbad with his two aides on Wednesday.

On Thursday, she reached Giridih and lodged a case of kidnapping with the Dumari police station (Jharkhand).

Giridih superintendent of police Akhilesh B. Veriar said police teams had been sent to Bihar and Odisha to trace the three persons, including Das.

"Police suspected the involvement of criminal gangs operating in Bihar and Jharkhand," he said.

Hazaribagh deputy inspector-general (DIG) Bhim Singh Tuti said a special investigation team had been set up to crack the case.

"Police are taking all precautions as human lives are at risk," said the DIG.

Sources close to the veterinary doctor's family said Das had business interests in Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Bengal.

He frequently visited Hajipur where he owned a poultry feed processing unit.

Additional director-general (headquarters) S.K. Singhal said a photograph of the kidnapped person had been circulated to all superintendents of police.

"Bihar police will co-operate with Giridih police in the probe. There will be no delay in taking action on our part," he said.