KATHMANDU: Surging cases of abduction, which have now begun resulting into fatalities, are causing panic among the Valley denizens lately.

However, the police say there is no need to panic as they have been remarkably successful in rescuing most of the victims of such incidents.

According to the last two years’ record made available by Metropolitan Police Range, Hanumandhoka, a remarkable number of abductees

were either rescued by police or released by the criminals themselves due to police intervention.Of total 85 kidnapped persons in this period, according to the data, only five persons were killed following their abduction in Kathmandu district.

In the same period, a total 68 cases of abduction were reported and police had arrested 197 suspects.

Of the abductees, 31 persons were entrepreneurs, 16 were students and nine each were industrialists and office employees. Eight cadres of different political parties were also among those abducted.

The data, which is broken down into various age groups ranging from one year of age to above 50 years, shows that males were more vulnerable than females, ratio of which is 5:1. Of the total reported cases, 70 males and 14 females are among those kidnapped.

The police data reveals that ransom the reason in the majority of the kidnapping cases. Fifty four of the total kidnappings were triggered by lure of huge ransom. Likewise, involvement of cadres of underground armed outfit members was also found in 10 cases.

Nawa Raj Silwal, Superintendent of Police, said that abductors, going by the abduction trend, were targeting male as their easy prey than female. “It might be because it is easier for them to lift male from one place to another and detain them.”

“There is more commotion among the pubic than the real cases in the recent times,” he said, dismissing rumours that kidnapping incidents were rising lately. “But it’s a worrying fact as the criminals those involved in the abduction have links with international criminal groups.”

Bhola Prasad Siwakoti, CDO, Kathmandu, said, “Late or no reporting of such incidents and settling the monetary deal with the kidnappers by the victim families in a hush-hush are posing problem to contain the crime.”