Patna, Dec 23 (IANS): A 22-year-old woman was allegedly kidnapped at gunpoint by a group of unidentified armed men who barged into her house in Patna's Phulwari Sharif locality, police said on Wednesday.

Over a dozen men carrying firearms forced their way into the house and terrorised the family, before kidnapping the woman around 8 pm on Tuesday.

As the abductors were leaving, the family shouted for help. A large number of people gathered on the spot but the kidnappers fled in four cars after firing at the gathering and into the air.

Phulwari Sharif police station SHO R Rahman said that the family members had named one Mohammad Feroz alias Afroz in their police complaint.

"Feroz owns an under-construction building in the neighbourhood. He used to visit the victim's house to give tutions. We are probing the love affair angle also, though the family claims no such relations between the woman and the accused," Rahman said.

"Faces of some of the accused are visible in CCTV footage from the area. Their identities will be known soon," the official said.