Manama: An alleged attempt by an Indian to kidnap a young Qatari student has sparked frenzy on Qatari social networking sites.
A woman, giving her name as Um Jaber, told Qatar Radio on Tuesday that a Qatari student was waiting near his home for the school bus when an Indian tried to kidnap him.
The boy, according to the woman who phoned the call-in morning programme of Qatar Radio, Good Morning Qatar, managed to "stab" his alleged kidnapper and flee. The incident is said to have taken place on Monday.
The student then hid in the Aspire Zone Park the whole day while his family was looking for him. Eventually, some people recognised him in the park and phoned his family.
They took him home, the caller claimed. However, the Capital Police told Qatari daily The Peninsula that no report related to the incident had been filed with them.
The Indian embassy also denied knowledge of the incident. Observers said it was possible that the boy went to Aspire Zone to play with friends, stayed there a long time and made up a story to gain the sympathy of his elders.
The sensational story triggered massive reaction in the Qatari community, with a number of people posting comments on social networking sites, the daily said.
Many bloggers were certain that the incident did take place and expressed concern over "worsening law and order due to the presence of a large foreign workforce in the country."
However, there were others who remained skeptical and rejected the story as unfounded rumours with highly implausible elements.
