Patna: The schoolboy, who was assumed
dead triggering large scale violence that claimed two lives in Madhubani district and prompting a `Bihar Bandh` by opposition parties on Monday, was found in New Delhi along with a girl with whom he had eloped.
Director General of Police Abhayanand told newsmen here Prashant Kumar Jha (17) and his girl friend Priti Chaudhary, with whom he had eloped last month were found at Mehrauli police station in New Delhi.
He said Mehrauli police station inspector Jarnail Singh had confirmed over phone to him that the two had been found.
Prashant and Priti had also spoken to him over the police inspector`s mobile phone and confirmed that they hailed from Madhubani district, Abhayanand said.
The Delhi police inspector said the couple were purchasing some goods from a shop at Mehrauli when an elderly person from Bihar identified them on the basis on information in the media and spoke to them to find out their antecedents.
He then phoned the police and a team from Mehrauli police station reached the spot and took the boy and girl to their custody.
Prashant was assumed dead after a body was found in Madhubani last week and Jha`s family members had laid claim to it.
The refusal by police to hand over the body to the family and subsequent dharna by its members had sparked off protests by students and general public. It subsequently escalated to violence and arson forcing the police to open fire in which at least two persons were killed and several others injured.
Opposition parties - RJD, LJP, Congress and Left parties observed a day-long bandh in the state against the police action and alleged deterioration in law and order.
Abhayanad said the boy is a student of Indian Public
School at Madhubani and a native of Arair village, while Priti is the daughter of a former district project officer in the department of education.
He said the two youngsters had spoken to him in detail and narrated to him the entire sequence of events since they eloped on September 7.
The two had told him that after leaving their homes in Madhubani they had moved together from place to place, including Ranchi, Jammu and Darjeeling before taking a train from Muzaffarpur to New Delhi earlier this month.
They also told the DGP that they had sold their mobile phone in Muzaffarpur for Rs 320 when they ran short of money.
The Madhubani police had tracked Prashant`s mobile phone number and the couple`s location was reported from Muzaffarpur, which was confirmed by the mobile phone shopkeeper to whom it was sold.
The DGP said he has asked Madhubani superintendent of police to get in touch with Mehrauli police station and get their photographs for further authentication of their identity.
Abhayanand said Jha and Priti would be produced before a juvenile court by Delhi police and a team of Bihar police will reach there soon to complete various legal formalities to bring the two back.
The DGP said it has now been established that the body
that was found was not that of Prashant but of somebody else.
The boy`s alleged kidnapping and delay by the police to hand over the body to Jha`s family had sparked off a massive protest by the students and general public who had indulged in large scale violence and arson over two days last week in Madhubani in which scores, including policemen, were injured.
The police had fired on the protesters to control the situation killing the two persons.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had ordered a judicial probe into the police firing and recommended a CBI probe into the boy`s kidnapping.
Four officials were also in the wake of the violence.
Today`s bandh by the opposition was the first major protest by opposition parties against the Nitish Kumar government which was re-elected with a thumping majority in 2010.
RJD President Lalu Prasad and his LJP counterpart Ramvilas Paswan were among the nearly 3000 arrested during the bandh which hit rail and road services here.
PTI
