Police have stepped up Operation Hot Pursuit, to track down naxalites responsible for the siege in Jehanabad and arrested 'a few' Communist Party of India (Maoist) rebels, even as the underground outfit claimed on Wednesday that it had no hostages.

Three companies of Central Reserve Paramilitary Forces, one of Rapid Action Force, Special Task Force commandos, besides district armed police have been pressed into service for round-the-clock search operations, special Inspector General for Jehanabad S K Bharadwaj told PTI, before leaving for an aerial survey with STF SP Sanjay Singh.

"A few naxalites, including some hardcore ones, have been apprehended and they have given us some vital clues," he said, refusing to disclose the details.

• Ranvir Sena stages bandh in Jehanabad

Bharadwaj, quoting a pamphlet issued by CPI(Maoist) Magadh area committee, said it claimed it had no hostages and was responsible for the slaying of only two Ranvir Sena men - Bade Sharma, who was killed in Jehanabad and Visheshar Rai, whose bullet-riddled body was found at Pinjora village. ''We are still verifying the veracity of the claim,'' he said.

Bharadwaj, himself a former SP of Jehanabad, said a number of escapees from the Jehanabad jail had contacted him and expressed their willingness to surrender. "I have asked them to surrender before the local police," he said.

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