The figure is now official. Forty abducted children have been killed in Bihar in the last five years and 98 children, who were abducted, are still missing.

According to an affidavit filed by state Chief Secretary G S Kang in the Patna High Court, 904 children have been abducted in Bihar since 2001.

Officials told rediff.com on Wednesday that, in the affidavit, Kang states that 'out of the 904 children reported as abducted, 766 were rescued, 40 killed by kidnappers and 98 are still missing'.

The affidavit was filed in response to a PIL on the abductions of children, business and professionals.

Officials said 475 children were abducted in the Patna region alone, accounting for the highest in the state. While 391 of them were rescued, 61 were still missing and 23 were killed.

The Muzaffarpur region ranked second with 241 children abducted, of which 209 were rescued, 16 are still missing and 16 were murdered.

Similarly, in the Bhagalpur region, which is ranked third, 125 children were abducted, 104 rescued, 16 are still missing and 5 children were killed by abductors.

The court asked the Bihar government on Tuesday to ensure the arrest of over 5000 absconding criminals by November 6 this year. All of them were involved in cases of kidnapping.