Despite having knocked Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s door six times at his weekly Janta Darbar and visiting senior and junior police officials of Bihar several times, efforts to trace Rapid Action Force constable Arun Kumar’s 22-year-old son have yielded no result. The youth was abducted over a year ago from Gaya. Arun Kumar’s plight was for the first time published in The Indian Express on May 7, 2006. At the time, he was posted in riot-affected areas of Vadodara in Gujarat. The RAF constable has spent the last few days guarding the streets of Patna in view of the Republic Day celebrations and Muharram.“The weapon I carry belongs to the government, for people’s security. Had I possessed a similar one, I would have stepped out and recovered my son,” said Kumar, pointing towards the firearm hanging from his shoulder.“I went to the Chief Minister’s durbar six times. The last time I went to the durbar was on January 8. Every time the Chief Minister referred the matter to senior police officers, they just assured me that they were on the job. But now, I am losing patience,” the constable said. Kumar said that his unit was posted in Jamshedpur and he had to take leave to travel to Patna to meet the Chief Minister. Mukesh Kumar, a BA student, was abducted from Gaya town in November 2005. A ranson demand of Rs 5 lakh was made by the captors. Although the constable paid Rs 1 lakh, his son was not released. When the matter went to the police, they made a few arrests, but could not retrive his son.“In March 2006, the abductors called and demanded the ransom amount. I even spoke to my son. Since then there has been no contact,” Kumar said, invoking the almighty for his son’s life. The incident left the constable so frightened that he took his second son to Jamshedpur after the criminals threatened to abduct him too if Kumar did not withdraw the police complaint. Reacting to the matter, ADG (Headquarter) Abhyanand, whom Kumar has approached several times, said that the police was trying to recover the boy. “He is free to take any action. As far as the police is concerned, it is investigating the case and trying its best to recover the boy,” he said. Kumar alleged that independent MLA from Govindpur in Nawada, Kaushal Yadav was behind the incident. “I had met him. He had acknowledged that some of his men were involved in the abduction,” the RAF constable said. Kumar also named other political leaders who were called by the police for questioning and alleged that they were let off after they bribed the police officials.
