Maoists release all three abducted cops in Bihar

Districts of Bihar

Maoists today released three policemen they had abducted on August 29 from the Lakhisarai district of Bihar, three days after they killed a fourth cop they had been holding, bringing to an end an eight-day hostage crisis.

The three policemen, identified as Abhay Yadav, Rupesh Kumar Sinha and Ehsan Khan, were released early this morning in the jungles near Lakhisarai, near the spot where the body of the killed policeman, Lukus Tete, an assistant sub-inspector with the Bihar Military Police (BMP), was found on Friday morning.

Television channels showed pictures of the three policemen emerging out of cars and walking into the Lakhisarai police station, where they would be debriefed by senior police officers. All three policemen appeared to be in good health.

Relatives of the three policemen who were outside the police station expressed a deep sense of relief over their release.

A doctor who examined the three policemen told reporters outside the police station that they were fine and had no external injuries of any kind.

On Friday, the Maoists had left a hand-written note next to the slain policeman's body, demanding the immediate release of eight of their arrested colleagues, failing which they had threatened to kill the three cops in their custody.

The four policemen were abducted by the Maoists on August 29 after a six-hour gun battle in Lakhisarai district. Seven policemen were killed and ten others suffered injuries in that incident.

The Maoists had claimed that the gunfight was in retaliation for the killing of their leader Cherukuri Rajkumar alias Azad and a journalist on the night of July 1-2 in Andhra Pradesh.

Later in the day, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced the release of the three men and denied there had been any deal in this regard with the Maoists.

He told a press conference that the three policemen were on their way home to their families and thanked all political parties for making a joint appeal to the Maoists to set them free.

He also said that a sustained campaign by the media and the strong stand taken by some civil society groups had helped to bring about a happy end to the eight-day crisis.

Mr Nitish Kumar, however, expressed deep regret that one of the four abducted policemen had been killed by the extremists.

The Chief Minister recalled that, at the all-party meeting convened by him at the weekend, all the political parties had supported his unconditional offer of talks to the Maoists. "It is another matter that the Maoists rejected the offer," he remarked.

He had a special word of praise for the Bihar police and the other security forces for keeping up their morale after they had lost one of their men.

Mr Nitish Kumar urged the Maoists to abandon the path of violence and join the national mainstream.

He felt the coming Assembly elections, scheduled for between October 21 and November 20, provided a big opportunity for the extremist groups to participate in democratic political processes and gain the support of the people they claim to represent. He said nothing would be achieved by purusing the path of violence and extremism.

NNN