Skeleton found in India believed to be that of kidnapped Briton

Investigators have found two skeletons in a forest in India’s remote north-east and ordered DNA tests to determine whether these were those of a kidnapped Briton of Indian origin and his local helper, police said today.

Pratul Deb, 67, and Sadhan Nath were allegedly kidnapped in March last year near Deb's native town of Hailakandi in Assam state, where he was running a bamboo business.

Newspaper reports said that his family paid nearly 990,000 rupees (£12,200) to a suspected rebel group as ransom, but he could not be found. The family declined comment on press reports.

After months of search, federal investigators arrested two suspected tribal militants who took them to the heavily wooded forest on Sunday where they recovered the skeletons, said a Central Bureau of Investigation officer.