Kidnappers kill school principal

In two separate incidents, criminals in Bihar kill a school principal and kidnap a train passenger at the gunpoint from a railway platform.

In two separate incidents, criminals in Bihar killed a school principal and kidnapped a train passenger at the gunpoint from a railway platform, police said on Saturday.

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In the first incident, a school principal was killed after being kidnapped by some unidentified criminals in Siwan district.

"Vashisht Narayan Singh, in his mid-50s, was killed by his abductors and the body was left behind in a field," a police official said in Siwan on Saturday.

Police suspect Singh was not killed for ransom. "It appears to be a case of revenge or personal enmity," the official said.

In the second incident, unidentified criminals kidnapped a train passenger at the gunpoint from Dighwara railway station in Saran district.

According to police, armed criminals entered a local train standing at Dighwara railway station and took away the passenger.

Railway officials confirmed the incident but refused to reveal the identity of the kidnapped passenger.

Abduction is rampant in Bihar, and hardly a day passes without anyone getting kidnapped. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, after he came to power in November 2005, promised to turn Bihar into a crime-free state but police records suggest otherwise.

Nearly 5,000 people, including hundreds of children, were abducted last year. This year, over 2,210 people were kidnapped in the first six months.