Long-missing NRI's skeleton found in India

There has been no sign of Pratul Deb for 18 months

Indian police investigating the case of a missing British Asian businessman are carrying out tests on remains found in a forest in north-east Assam state.

Pratul Deb, 67, a former teacher from north London, was believed kidnapped by militants on 18 March last year.

Police say two jailed tribesmen in a neighbouring state had led officers to where the remains were found.

Mr Deb's Sheffield-based family paid a £12,000 ($22,000) ransom in their campaign to secure his release.

Police recovered the remains following a seven-hour search in the dense Hawaithang forest on Assam's border with Mizoram state.

They also recovered a second skeleton.

Mr Deb's assistant, Sadhan Nath, is believed to have been kidnapped with him.

'Rivalries'

A team from the federal Central Bureau of Investigation has been in southern Assam's Barak valley for three months investigating the disappearances.

Sipra Deb said Assam's government was not doing enough

Mr Deb's daughters had put pressure on the governments of both Britain and India to have the case dealt with properly.

Police claim the two Chakma tribesman in Arunachal Pradesh state had confessed to involvement in the case.

Despite paying the ransom, Mr Deb's family have had no information on him since he went missing.

Local media reports have suggested his disappearance may have had more to do with local political and business rivalries than rebel activity.

Mr Deb contested the 2001 Assam state elections for the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.

His business supplying bamboo to a local paper mill may have clashed with a rival company, media reports say.

One CBI official said: "Normally rebels in north-east India release captives if the ransom they ask for has been paid.

"We feel there is more to this case than simple kidnap for money because Deb was not set free even after his family had paid a lot of money by local standards."

One of Mr Deb's daughters, Sipra, came to India with two officers from South Yorkshire police to meet Indian Home Minister Shivraj Patil.

Her sister, Deepa, a lawyer, lobbied heavily in the UK.

Sipra alleged that Assam's Congress government was not pursuing the investigation into her father's abduction seriously.