Relatives of a Katahariya-based businessman, who has been out of contact for the past five days, fear he might have been abducted.

Shribhagawan Prasad Sah, aged 36, has been missing since he went to Garuda in the district on Tuesday. Sah, a resident of Katahariya Municipality-5, is a well known businessperson in the area. He runs a money exchange in Katahariya Bazaar.

On Saturday, Sah’s relatives and the locals obstructed vehicular movement along the Gaur-Chandranigahapur road section for a few hours, demanding the authorities find his whereabouts. They claimed that the victim was abducted. The agitators called off their protest after Superintendent of Police Bhupendra Khatri assured them to find out his whereabouts at the earliest.

A family source said Sah had gone to meet Bhojendra Chaudhary, a trader in Garuda, to collect money that the latter had borrowed from him. “Sah has been missing since he went to Garuda. We suspect he might have been abducted,” said Manohar, Sah’s relative. He said Sah was from a well-to-do family and there were no other reasons behind his missing.

Sah’s motorcycle, two mobile sets, citizenship certificate, among other belongings, were recovered from Chaudhary’s shop. Garuda Police Post detained Chaudhary’s son Ram for inquiry. Police are yet to confirm whether it was abduction or not. “We have launched a detailed investigation into the case. We are also looking into call details,” said SP Khatri, adding that the Criminal Investigation Bureau has also been called into the district to probe the case. “We will soon find out the fact.”