Krishnagar, Aug. 7: A kidnapped schoolboy’s father has turned to the chief minister for help after police jumped the gun and identified the abductors, possibly endangering the hostage’s life.
Bangladeshi boy Snehamoy Saha, kidnapped on Thursday from his boarding school in Ranaghat, 65 km from Calcutta, is yet to be found.
Nadia district police had said on Friday that the kidnappers were former students of the school, Ramakrishna-Sarada Mission Vidyapith, who had been expelled for their “antisocial activities”.
Snehamoy’s father Sanatan Saha wrote to Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee yesterday.
“Please help find my son,” the letter said.
Sanatan is a prosperous farmer-cum-trader from Rutampur in Dhaka. His business in agricultural accessories, such as fertilisers, regularly takes him on trips across the border to Jalpaiguri, where he stays with a relative. Another relation, Patit Paban Chakraborty of Kalyani, is Snehamoy’s local guardian.
The Nadia police officers themselves appeared worried today.
“We had traced the calls (which the kidnappers made to the local guardian’s home) to Duttaphulia,” an officer said. “We were confident we would catch the gang by Friday night. We have given the criminal investigation department the facts of the case.”
The Nadia additional superintendent of police, Biswarup Ghosh, said his men are trying their best to trace the hostage.
“We have put a team of crack officers on the job,” he said. “From Duttaphulia, the gang could have gone to any of three districts ? North 24-Parganas, Hooghly and Burdwan. We have alerted the police in these districts and hope to rescue the boy soon.”
The kidnappers had made three calls on Thursday, demanding money but not speci- fying the sum, an officer said. Since then, there has been no word from them.
Sanatan was visibly upset when he met the police today.
“I don’t understand why my son should have been kidnapped. He never kept bad company,” he told officers at Ranaghat police station.
The businessman said his wife Namita has fallen ill since learning about the abduction.
