Patna: The body of a 21-year-old missing youth was recovered from the Budhi Gandak river at Motipur in Muzaffarpur district on Wednesday evening. The investigation revealed that the youth, who had been missing from Ahiyapur Zero Mile since June 23, was first kidnapped and later killed.

The perpetrators attempted to conceal his identity by pouring acid on his face.According to police, the deceased was identified as Abhishek Kumar, a resident of Ranipatti village in Rajepur, East Champaran district. He was residing in a rented accommodation in Ahiyapur while pursuing his studies.Upon getting information about the body, Motipur SHO R K Pandey along with the police force reached the spot and sent the body to SKMCH for a postmortem.

"The youth's face was blackened, and it appears that the accused poured some chemical on his face to hide his identity. Victim's family identified Abhishek by his clothes and bracelet on his wrists. A kidnapping case was registered at Ahiyapur police station on June 24 by his family after he did not return to his rented accommodation," he said.The victim's father, Vinod Rai, alleged that Abhishek's friend Ayush (24) killed his son.

A case was registered against the accused, a resident of Hanuman Nagar in East Champaran district. "Nitish Kumar, a boy from my village, lived with my son at the rented accommodation in Muzaffarpur. When I contacted him, he told me that Abhishek's friend Ayush took him to a party on June 23. But he did not return. Following this, I registered a kidnapping complaint at the police station on June 24," he said.Pawan Kumar, SHO of Ahiyapur police station, said, "Raids are being conducted to nab the accused. According to the victim's family, the accused had borrowed money from Abhishek, which he could not return. When the youth asked for the money, Ayush killed him. The police are investigating the case."