Abdur Rahman

Cuttack, Nov. 21: A Class V student of Delhi Public School (DPS), Kalinga at Phulnakhra, went missing yesterday. His family members suspect that he has been kidnapped.

Sources said Abdur Rahman, 11, had gone for private tuition around 7pm yesterday but did not return. The family suspects he has been kidnapped by their neighbour Seikh Zulfikar, alias Badal, who had gone to collect him after tuition. Badal and his family are also missing.

The boy’s parents, Seikh Ahesanul Haque and Yasmin, lodged a missing complaint with Purighat police late last night. The family is yet to receive any ransom call.

Both Haq and Badal live in the same building at Nima Sahi. On Saturday, Badal left city for a day with his wife and one-year-old son but returned home alone. However, he had reportedly said his wife and son were with some relatives.

“The family members of the boy have registered a complaint that their son and their neighbour have not returned home since last evening. Our probe has begun and we are looking at all possible angles,” said deputy commissioner of police S. Praveen Kumar.

“I was not at home when the incident occurred. My wife had asked our neighbour Badal to collect my son from his tuition class, but both of them have not returned home since then,” said Haque. He accused Badal of kidnapping his son. There are four families staying in the building where Rahman’s parents moved in one-and-a-half years ago.

Haque had spent some time in Saudi Arabia. He moved to Odisha and finally came to Cuttack because his mother was not keeping well.

Local residents said Badal worked as a driver. Though Haque’s family did not have much information on Badal, the two families had become quite close. Badal often used to pick up Rahman from his tuition classes at Friend’s Colony.

“Rahman used to go to the tuition classes in a hired rickshaw. Since he was a neighbour, I often asked Badal to pick up and drop my son at the tuition class whenever the rickshaw-puller failed to turn up,” said Yasmin.

Rahman’s tuition teacher Aditi said he had come to class around 7.15 last night. “He came for the class and left with Badal, who had picked him up on several occasions in the past. Yesterday, both of them left on a motorcycle around 10.15pm,” said Aditi.