LAHAN:

A group claiming to be Maoists, on Thursday, abducted a hotelier, Ranjit Singh, and his son, Sanjay Singh, from Siraha’s Mirchaiya Chowk. The group of 10-12 persons came to the hotel and took the father and son away, said Ranjit Singh’s daughter Uma. The group also manhandled my sister-in-law, she added. Maoists’ Siraha district committee secretary Abinash, however, denied his party’s involvement in the incident. The villagers might have kidnapped the duo because they had scheduled a discussion programme on Thursday against Singh in relation to a land dispute, he said.