Jharkhand Police rescue abducted government official

Alok Kumar, Circle Officer (CO) of Paki block of Palamau district, was rescued from the forest of Manatu block in the district on Tuesday around 11.45 p.m., a police officer said.

About 20 rebels of the Jharkhand Liberation Tiger (JLT) had abducted Alok Kumar at gun point from Kekargarh village of Palamau, 190 km from state capital Ranchi, late Monday evening.

Kumar was abducted when he went to the village for selecting the Aganwadi members. According to sources, the Maoists had demanded a ransom of Rs.20 lakh.

An operation was launched to rescue Kumar, the officer added. "It was the police operation that forced the rebels to release Kumar,” he said.

Maoist guerrillas are active in 18 of the 24 districts of Jharkhand. Nearly 1,550 people have been killed in Maoist-related violence in the last eight years.