Jamui, Jan. 27: Eight labourers of a private construction company were kidnapped late last night by suspected Maoists from Badildih village in the Naxalite-hit Jamui district, around 196km southeast of Patna.
Over 50 armed Maoists descended on the camp office of the Munger-based construction firm — Bihar Pul Nirman Pvt. Ltd — at Badildih under the jurisdiction of Khaira police station around midnight, little over 11 hours after President Pranab Mukherjee hoisted National Flag in New Delhi on the occasion of Republic Day. As the company’s owner Vikas Singh was not present, the rebels held eight labourers, including a head mason, captive. The kidnapped labourers have been identified as Rajiv Roy (head mason), Nawal Roy, Rajkumar Roy, Bidhya Roy, Likhindar Roy (all from the Raghopur area in Vaishali district), Dinesh Singh (cashier of the company), Bikash Singh (both residents of Dalsinghsarai in Samastipur district) and night guard Subodh Pandit. The firm engaged them for constructing a bridge on a rivulet, connecting Jamui with Nawada and Giridih in Jharkhand.
“Before leaving, the rebels threatened to eliminate the abducted labourers if their demands were not met with,” said a worker of the firm, who managed to hide himself behind the sacks of cement.
The Maoists are reportedly against the construction of the bridge, whose foundation stone was laid in 2006. The construction work was allotted to Singh’s company in November 2012.
Some residents of the area said the rebels kidnapped the labourers for extortion. But police denied it.
Jamui sub-divisional police officer Birendra Sah said raids were on and the borders of the district had been sealed. Deputy inspector-general (Munger range) Anil Kishore Yadav said: “The Jamui superintendent of police has been asked to launch combing operation to rescue the victims.”
Jamui superintendent of police Upendra Kumar Sharma said a joint team of the district armed police and the Central Reserve Police Force had been engaged in combing operations in bordering areas of Bihar and Jharkhand.
