Maoists suspected in Nepal kidnappings

KATMANDU, Nepal, Dec. 5 (UPI) -- Suspected Maoist rebels in Nepal have kidnapped a judge and a former adviser to the late king, the BBC reported Sunday.

Police say the judge was abducted from his home in a village in the eastern part of the country, while a onetime adviser to King Birendra Chet Bahdur Kunwa was taken in a separate incident in southwestern Nepal.

Suspected Maoists had said they had some business with the judge, a Nepalese newspaper quoted family sources as saying.

King Birendra's former secretary was abducted as he returned from a Buddhist conference Friday.

More than 8,000 people are believed to have died since 1996 when Maoists began their armed quest to topple Nepal's monarchy.