From correspondents in Jharkhand, India, 03:30 PM IST

Maoist rebels beheaded a couple in Jharkhand's Hazaribagh district on suspicion they were police informers, officials said Monday.

The couple - Subodh Ravidas and his wife - was abducted from their home at Vishnugarh in Hazaribagh, about 170 km from here, Saturday. Their beheaded bodies were found on Sunday.

Police said about four Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) activists abducted Ravidas and his wife at gun point.

Police launched a search operation to rescue them but found their bodies in a nearby jungle. Maoists left a pamphlet warning other people against working as police informers.

In the past year, Maoist rebels killed 24 people suspecting them to be police informers. Maoists are active in 16 of the 22 districts of the state.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)