Find kidnapped doctors or face strike, say Bihar medicos

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) on Monday threatened to paralyse medical services in Bihar if the two doctors who were allegedly abducted nearly forty-eight hours ago in the state's Samastipur district were not found soon.

The association also protested against the police's failure in recovering the abducted doctors.

AK Sahay and Santosh Kumar, doctors who work at a nursing home located in a village, went missing late Saturday evening from Sahpur Patauri in Samastipur. They were abducted when they were out on work, a police official said.

"Police have failed to make any breakthrough, though two suspected people involved in the abduction were detained," an official in Samastipur said.

A hunt has been launched to find the doctors after their motorcycles were recovered and investigations have begun in the case, he added.

"A special police team has been constituted to look into the case," Deputy Inspector General (Darbhanga range) Baldeo Prasad said.

Their families suspect that both were kidnapped over a property dispute.

Abductions are common in Bihar for ransom and revenge. According to police sources here, 45 people have been abducted for ransom in the state from January to July this year. Last year, 32 people were kidnapped during the same period.

Nearly four months ago, the Bihar government said that between 2001 and 2009, 2,167 children had been kidnapped. Of them, 1,752 were found and 75 killed while the fate of 340 was still unknown.