Maoist rebels abduct four police officers in central India

Senior police officer says guerrillas stopped bus transporting policemen as it was passing through Kutru village

RAIPUR: India's Maoist rebels abducted four policemen in the restive Indian state of Chhattisgarh late Monday after intercepting a passenger bus, a top security official said.

The guerrillas stopped the bus transporting the security personnel as it was passing through Kutru village in Bijapur district, the senior police officer said.

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"Four police personnel were kidnapped on Monday evening by Maoists," police director general Amarnath Upadhyaya told AFP.

"A group of Maoists intercepted the passenger bus and kidnapped them near Kutru," he added.

It was in Kutru where the controversial anti-Maoist militia group called the Salwa Judum started its operations in 2005.

Kutru, a Maoist dominated area, is some 525 kilometres south of the state capital Raipur.

The rebels, who claim to be fighting for the rights of poor tribal minorities and farmers, have waged a decades-long battle across central and eastern Indian states to overthrow government authorities.

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The government describes the Maoist insurgency as the country's most serious internal security threat.

Upadhyaya said the police were combing swathes of jungle in the area following the abduction but leads had proved elusive so far.

"We have no information so far. But we are working on it," he said.