Seven-year-old accused of abduction in Bihar

PATNA: A seven-year-old boy in Bihar has been charged with kidnapping another boy of his village.

Guddu Kumar, a Class 2 student from Karnpur village in Muzaffarpur district, about 70 km from here, has been accused of abducting 10-year-old Ashok Kumar last year.

A year after the complaint was filed, the case was referred to the police afresh by a court this week as Ashok remains missing even now.

"The boy was charged under sections 363 and 363A for kidnapping Ashok Kumar with an intention to murder him," an official of Bochaha police station said.

A year ago, Ashok's father Kishori Bhagat had filed a criminal complaint against Guddu in a Muzaffarpur court for kidnapping Ashok with the intention of murder. Others named as accused included Guddu's father and four of his relatives.

On July 10, 2006, Guddu and Ashok had reportedly gone to visit the former's relatives in a neighbouring village but Ashok went missing.

"After the court directed the police station to investigate the case, an FIR was registered against Guddu and the other accused," said R.P. Gupta, the officer in-charge of the police station.

Earlier, children as young as two and three-years-old have been named criminals in police records in Bihar, inviting censure from courts and rights bodies.