The under-construction bridge at Raghipul in Muzaffarpur. Picture by Prakash Kumar

Muzaffarpur, March 10: The Naxalites’ alleged demand of Rs 2 crore as levy from a private construction firm has halted the construction work of a bridge across Burhi Gandak river.

SP Singhalia Construction Limited, which Rajya Pul Nirman Nigam had awarded the Rs 23-crore contract for construction of the bridge, received the demand call from the rebels.

The bridge is being constructed in Raghai village of Minapur block to facilitate unhindered movement of people of the flood-prone area. Chief minister Nitish Kumar had laid the foundation stone of the bridge in 2009.

Sources said the north-western zonal committee of CPI (Maoist) is demanding the levy and the rebels have also threatened the engineers, supervisor and labourers, engaged in construction, of dire consequences if they dared defy the diktat.

Around 25 Maoists raided the construction site on the night of March 5 and torched the makeshift sheds. Property worth Rs 2 crore, including a JCB machine, was damaged in the attack.

“Prior to this attack on the construction site, rebels hampered our work on two occasions in November last year. We had lodged an FIR, but Maoists refused to relent and they pasted pamphlets to threaten us,” project engineer Satya Prakash told The Telegraph.

He said neither Bihar Rajya Pul Nirman Limited nor the police was paying attention to the problems of the construction company. “We have stopped the construction work for now to save our employees from the Maoists,” the project engineer added.

Meanwhile, the police disagreed with the project engineer’s version. “Engineers of the construction company have stopped the work because of internal squabbles,” said Muzaffarpur senior superintendent of police (SSP) Rajesh Kumar, adding that nobody from the construction company had lodged a written complaint about the levy demand.

The SSP said: “Twenty personnel of State Auxiliary Police have been deployed at the site and teams from Minapur police station have been patrolling the whole area to keep the rebels at bay.” The employees, however, said: “If rebels outnumber and kill the cops, where would we go? All of us would have to die.”

A senior police official told The Telegraph the construction company paid levy to the rebels. “But they (Naxalites) wanted more money. The company’s refusal led to the present crisis,” the official said.