Bihar: PDS dealer’s kidnapped son released by Maoists within 48 hours in Lakhisarai

PATNA: A PDS dealer’s son Deepak Prasad (24), whom Maoists had kidnapped reportedly for Rs 1 crore ransom in Lakhisarai district on late Saturday night, was released within 48 hours as they failed to escape due to immediate and intensive combing operation taken up by security forces.
A group of heavily armed Maoists had barged inside the residence of PDS dealer Bhagwat Prasad at Chaukara under Piri Bazaar police station area in the district at around 9pm on Saturday and kidnapped Deepak.
Lakhisarai district police with Special Task Force commandos gave a hot chase to Maoists and entered into a gun-battle in which one of their commanders Pramod Koda (37) was neutralized with two hours of kidnapping.
An AK-47 assault rifle, more than 100 live cartridges, a hand grenade, two IEDs and detonators were recovered from his backpack later.
Lakhisarai SP Sushil Kumar said Deepak was set free by Maoists on hills in Kajra at around 11pm on Monday.
“He saw lights of Kajra railway station and slowly came down after which police located him,” he said.
Kumar said security forces had taken up combing operations specially on the hills due to which they could not escape out of the district border.
SP said that deployments were focused on escape routes of Maoists and their hideouts. “The hilly routes were cordoned-off within a few hours of Deepak’s kidnapping. Thus, they could not flee with the victim to the neighbouring district,” he said.
“We learnt from media and other people that Maoists had demanded Rs 1 crore ransom from Deepak’s family for his safe release. But none of them have informed anything about it to police yet,” he said.
SP said more than 20 suspects including close relatives of Maoists were quizzed intensively which created pressure on them and finally they had to release Deepak.
Piri Bazaar police station SHO Prajesh Kumar Dubey said had the Maoists been successful in crossing hills in Kajra with Deepak, then they would have crossed to Jamui district easily. “It would have become difficult then to rescue Deepak,” he added.