A man from village Bindol barely 20km from here was abducted from his office by some unidentified youths on Saturday afternoon.

His family members, who filed a complaint at Raiganj police station on Saturday evening, said abductors called up for ransom.

Police suspect financial dealings might be the reason for the abduction of Bashu Das, 32, who runs the customer service point (CSP) of a nationalised bank in Bindol under Raiganj block of North Dinajpur. A source said Bashu had taken cash from some youths while promising them jobs through a private agency in Calcutta, but the jobs had not materialised.

Bashu’s wife Manisha said her husband was working at his office near their home when the family heard shouts. “As we rushed out, we saw around 10 men dragging my husband to an SUV,” she said.

Manisha said that she and her in-laws tried to prevent the youths but failed. Bashu was thrust into the SUV that sped away.

Some other residents had also come out of homes and shops. Ajay Burman, an eyewitness, said: “Some of the youths told us to stay away or face consequences.”

A video clip of the kidnap suspected to be shot on camera phone surfaced on social media, showing youths forcing a man into an SUV.

The Das family received a ransom call from abductors, a source said, but the sum of money was not specified. “The family was told that the youth is safe but also asked to start arranging money without saying how much. Abductors hinted they would make further calls,” said the source.

Suraj Thapa, the inspector-in-charge, said probe had started. “We are checking out video footage to identify the youths and the vehicle. Preliminary findings indicate the incident is a fallout of financial dealings,” said Thapa. A police source added: "It seems the youths promised jobs were mounting pressure on Bashu for cash refund.”