Two suspected Maoists were arrested on Saturday in Bihar's Jamui district while a massive combing operation was on to trace three cops abducted by the rebels, a day after the body of slain policeman Lucas Tete was found in a forest.
The two suspected Maoists were arrested from the court premises in Jamui in connection with the hostage crisis, police sources said.
"Both Maoists were arrested when they arrived in the court premises in connection with their pending cases," the sources said. Officials are, however, yet to confirm the arrest.
Meanwhile, a massive operation was launched against Maoists in the morning in the hilly, forest areas in Lakhisarai, Munger and Jamui districts as uncertainty continued about the fate of the three policemen abducted by the rebels on Sunday.
According to police officials, a combined force of Cobra commandos, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Special Task Force, Bihar Military Police and Special Auxiliary
Police are scouring the forests, hoping to find a clue to the whereabouts of the three abducted policemen.
"Security forces are carrying out intense search operations in the hilly and forest areas in Dharhara, Kajra, Bhimbandh and other places in Jamui, Lakhisarai, Munger districts," a police official said.
Maoists spokesperson Avinash told local Hindi news channels on Saturday that the remaining three policemen are safe and well. But he refused to allow them to talk to their families.
Police said there was no information about three policemen — Abhay Kumar Yadav, Rupesh Kumar Sinha and Ehsan Khan — who had been kidnapped along with Tete on Sunday after a six-hour gunfight in Lakhisarai that left seven policemen dead.
Additional Director General of Police, (Headquarters) Mr P.K. Thakur, said police operations were on to rescue the others. Maoists claimed Sunday's gunfight and kidnappings were 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.
The rebels said the kidnapped policemen would be killed unless eight jailed Maoist leaders were released. The Maoists have also warned the Bihar government of more attacks if the operations against them did not stop immediately.