Gold trader abducted in Bihar's Arrah; police launch search operation

As per the family, Dr Hari Gupta had gone to the market in the Dharhara area near Baluahee bypass to collect rent from the shopkeepers on Thursday evening and did not return home.

Arrah (Bihar): A gold merchant was abducted in Arrah of Bihar on Thursday, his family said. Police launched a search operation to trace the gold trader. The missing gold trader has been identified as Dr Hari Gupta, 65, son of late Sitaram Sah, a resident of the Nagar police station area of Mahajan Toli No 1.

Sanjay Prasad Gupta, the trader's son, said that his father had gone to the market in the Dharhara area near Baluahee bypass to collect rent from the shopkeepers late in the evening and did not return home. Sanjay said that they went to the market in search of his father, but to no avail. However, the family spotted his motorcycle hidden near the market.

Sanjay said that before being “abducted”, his father had an argument with one of the shopkeepers, who has rented one of his shops. Bhojpur SP Sanjay Kumar Singh, who reached the spot to investigate the case, said a probe has been ordered to trace the missing trader. The police are also interrogating some people on the basis of suspicion in this case by taking them into custody, he said. Hari Gupta has many jewellery shops in Ara and Patna and he is also an advocate by profession.