Suspected Maoist rebels said Thursday they have killed one of the four police officers they abducted four days ago during a fierce gunbattle in eastern India, according to a local television station.
They threatened to kill the remaining three officers by Friday if the Bihar state government does not release eight of their fighters from police custody, according to Avinash, who claims to be a rebel area commander.
Inspired by Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong, the rebels have fought the government in several parts of India for more than four decades, demanding land and jobs for landless farmers and the poor.
The insurgents - often targeting police, soldiers and government officials whom they see as representatives of the state - have tapped into anger among the rural poor over being left out of the country's economic gains.
Avinash, who uses one name, conveyed the rebel warning in telephone calls to a local television news channel, Sadhna, and some journalists based in Patna, the Bihar state capital.
There was no independent confirmation of Avinash's claim.
P.K. Thakur, a top state police officer, said the government had no information about police officer Abhay Yadav's killing.
In a gunbattle with police lasting nearly 12 hours on Sunday, the rebels killed seven police officer near Lakhisarai, a village 125 miles (200 kilometers) east of Patna, police said.
The rebel casualties were not known as they usually carry away their dead comrades.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called the rebels India's biggest internal security threat. They are now present in 20 of India's 28 states and have an estimated 10,000 to 20,000 fighters, according to the Home Ministry.
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