Police kill Bihar kidnap suspect

Students had protested over the abduction

Police in the Indian state of Bihar say they have killed their main suspect in connection with the recent high-profile kidnapping of a schoolboy.

The suspect, Vicky Thakur, was shot while trying to escape on a motorbike in state capital, Patna, police say.

The kidnap victim - 14-year-old Kisalay Kaushal - was seized in January and rescued by police two weeks later.

The abduction caused outrage in Bihar, where extortionists and kidnappers regularly target the rich.

Pupils marched on the governor's house and staged fasts and prayer meetings, turning kidnappings into a major issue for state elections being held this month.

Law and order

Senior superintendent of police in Patna, Nair Hussain Khan, said officers had acted on a tip-off to track Thakur. Several officers were slightly hurt in the encounter, he said.

Three alleged members of a local criminal gang blamed for Kisalay's abduction had earlier been arrested.

Abductions have dominated the election, with opposition parties saying they reflect the state's poor law and order situation.

However, the governing Rashtriya Janata Dal party has accused the opposition and media of projecting a negative image of Bihar.