Patna, Aug 6 - For teenagers Akanksha and Ankita Pandey, the festival of Raksha Bandhan brought no joy. Their brother was kidnapped a few days before the festival two years ago and they are still waiting for news of him.

'Kidnapping is a curse for sisters in Bihar. We are helpless,' Akanksha, tears welling up in her eyes, told IANS here Thursday.

Akash Pandey, 12, was kidnapped while he was on the way to school Aug 10, 2007.

Hundreds of women across the state, which has a high rate of kidnappings, did not celebrate the festival about the bond between brother and sister.

Last month, the Bihar government said that in the last eight years over 2,000 children had been abducted in the state and the fate of 340 of them was still not known.

According to official reports, 2,167 children were kidnapped from 2001 to 2009. Of them, 1,752 were found. As many as 75 abducted children were killed.