The freed labourers in Giridih on Tuesday. Picture by Tausheen Rubbani

Hazaribagh, Feb. 21: Six labourers who were abducted by Maoists from a road construction site in Giridih on Saturday were released yesterday after a joint team of district and Bihar’s Jamui police launched a massive search operation.

“The six workers of Nirmata Company, a Bihar-based construction firm, were found by local police at Chakai in Jamui district this morning. Mounting pressure forced the rebels to release them at Saaran village in Chakai around midnight,” said Giridih superintendent of police (SP) Amol Venukant Homkar.

The freed labourers were identified as Umesh Singh, Alam Ansari, Siraj Ansari, Congress Ravidas, Praveel Prasad and Nirmal Singh.

“We thought we would never return,” said a worker requesting anonymity.

Another labourer added: “We were forced to walk several kilometres into the forests. The Maoists also shifted their base twice on sensing the police operation. However, they served us food.”

Giridih and Jamui police, also accompanied by a few CRPF jawans, launched a combing operation along the border of the two districts.

“We identified the place in the forest where the rebels and the kidnapped workers were stationed. The operation was led by assistant SP (Giridih) Sanjay Kumar and his Jamui counterpart Shatrughan Rajak,” Homkar said.

On Saturday evening, nearly 60 armed Maoists attacked the camp office of the firm, which is engaged in construction of Pardih-Sahhiyari road in Bengabad block, and searched for its manager. On failing to find him, the rebels torched a tractor, two road rollers and a mini water tanker, before kidnapping the workers.

According to sources, Maoist movement in Giridih has increased with the rebels pressuring contractors to extort money. The rebels also demanded Rs 10 lakh from Nirmata Company, sources added.