The bullet-riddled body of kidnapped Bihar Military Police havildar Lucas Tete was on Friday recovered from Lakhisarai as the Maoist deadline for killing three remaining hostages expired, with security forces intensifying operations to rescue them.
     
Superintendent of Police, Lakhisarai, Ranjit Kumar Mishra said a body found in the Simra Tari Sringirishi dam under Kajra police station in the district had been identified that of one of the kidnapped policemen - Lucas Tete.
    
Mishra said the body of Tete was found lying in a pool of blood on a road in the forests surrounded by hills.
    
A leaflet too has been recovered from near the body in which Maoists claimed to have killed the havildar and threatened that the other three held captive by them would also meet the same fate if the state government failed to release eight of their jailed colleagues, official sources said.
     
Self-proclaimed Maoist spokesman Avinash had on Thursday claimed to have killed SI Abhay Yadav after the expiry of the deadline set by them for a government response to their demand by 4 pm on Thursday.
    
The body of Abhay has not been located and neither was there any official confirmation.
    
"Combined force of Cobra Battalion of CRPF, BMP, STF and SAP of Bihar police have intensified anti-Maoists operations for rescuing the policemen kidnapped by the Maoists during Sunday's encounter in Lakhisarai district," Inspector General (Operations), K S Dwivedi, overseeing the anti-Naxal operations, told PTI.
     
BSF helicopters carrying Cobra battalion personnel are hunting for the Naxalites for ensuring safe release of the hostages, Dwivedi said.
     
Intense search operations continued in the hilly and forest areas in Dharhara, Kajra and several other places in Bihar's Munger, Jamui and Lakhisarai districts, he said.

Dwivedi said the police had not yet found the body of Abhay Yadav. Maoists claimed to have thrown his body in the forests under Kajra police station in Lakhisarai district.