Jaigaon, Jan. 29: The parents of five teenage boys have been running from pillar to post for over a month to secure their release from the forest department of Bhutan.

Suresh Chowdhury, the priest of a Kali temple which fell into Bhutan territory after a recent survey of the boundaries between the two countries, said he had last seen his son on December 15 when he went out with his friends to collect driftwood from the Torsa river.

“When we heard that the temple would fall within Bhutan territory, we decided to build another one at Subhaspally. I asked my son, Suranjan, to collect driftwood so that we could cook khichdi for the foundation-stone-laying ceremony,” said Chowdhury. Suranjan went out to do the chore, accompanied by his friends Badal Gurung, Milan Dorjee, Kumar Tamang and Hanok Dorjee, and did not return.

After six days, enquiries revealed that the boys were in the custody of the Bhutan forest department at Samste. “We went to Samste. There, the forest staff told us that the boys had been arrested for stealing wood and would be released if we coughed up Rs 50,000 each,” Chowdhury alleged.

“How can we raise that amount?” asked Fulmaya Gurung, Badal’s mother. Chowdhury alleged that local panchayat member Ashalata Sarkar had refused to accompany them to the police station. “She told us that the law in Bhutan was strict and if we meddled too much, our boys would be in danger,” the priest said.

Today, the parents petitioned the liaison officer K. Chaitanya at India House in Phuentsholing, Bhutan, for the boys’ release.

A copy of the petition has been sent to the Jaigaon police station. “I will look into the matter at the earliest,” said Chaitanya.