Bhagalpur, Dec. 16: Recent kidnappings of construction workers and their subsequent release in Sono and Khaira blocks of Jamui district by Maoists indicate that the rebels have adopted abduction as a means of collecting easy money in a shift from extortion.

Police, however, have denied the levy angle theory.

Districts in eastern Bihar such as Jamui, which is seeing infrastructure development, is proving to be a milch cow for the outfit, claim intelligence reports.

According to last year’s reports, the rebels collected more than Rs 30 lakh a month as levy from different sources like construction companies, forest mafia and petrol pumps among others in eastern Bihar districts but have now shifted focus to abduction.

The release of seven hostages of two construction companies in Khaira block of Jamui district on December 12 and that of 14 abducted labourers in Sono block of Bhagalpur district on November 4 are case in point.

Ram Narayan Singh, the Jamui superintendent of police, however, said: “It is quite possible that the rebels approached contractors or the persons concerned of the construction companies but we do not have any evidence of that. Not a single complaint of levy demand was reported. Police pressure only forced the rebels to release the hostages in all cases.”

Hostages released by Maoists at Pakri, however, had a different story to narrate to the reporters. “The rebels never hurt or abused us. They gave medicines to one of us who fell sick and a woman rebel administrated injection to him. They assured us that they would free us as soon as the company coughed up the levy amount,” said Fantoosh Yadav, one of the released hostages.

“We are fully convinced that if we submit a tender for construction work in Jamui district, we have to arrange additional amount for paying levy,” said a site-in-charge of a construction company in the district on condition of anonymity.

“Only after finalising payment of six per cent levy, we can start road construction work,” said another worker of a construction company, engaged in laying a rural road in Lakshmipur block in the district on condition of anonymity.

Several people associated with such construction companies, however, blamed police for its lackadaisical attitude.

“Pakri or Balthar is not new to incidents as in Jamui. Dozens of such incidents have taken place in the district earlier and the companies concerned were compelled to pay the Maoists,” alleged a site in-charge of a construction company on condition of anonymity.

On July 7 this year, the Maoists raided the base camp of Pradhan construction company at Saraun-Dulampur under Chakai police station in the district and torched a dumper, a JCB machine, a pitch vibrator machine, a tractor and 20 barrels of bitumen. The incident was fallout of the company management’s denial of levy to the rebels.