The family of Umesh Roy, a migrant worker from Dalla in Malda, alleged that he was kidnapped by a labour contractor on Sunday.

Umesh’s father, Hiren Roy, lodged a complaint at the Habibpur police station, under whose jurisdiction Dalla falls, and with the superintendent of police of Malda town.

Hiren claimed in the complaint that Mukul Biswas, a labour contractor from Oltor, came to their residence on Sunday and took Umesh, who is in his mid-twenties, with him on the pretext of sending him to work at a construction site in Bangalore.

“I did not object as my son had been looking for employment outside the state because of low wages in Bengal. However, shortly after leaving, Umesh contacted his brother-in-law over the phone and said that he had been confined by the contractor, who was demanding more than ₹1 lakh for his release,” said Hiren.

Mukul’s phone remained unreachable.

Anupam Singh, the SP, said: “Appropriate action will be taken after the preliminary inquiry.”

Police are looking for the accused, said a source.