Rautahat, July 26:

The Rautahat chapter of the Nepali Congress party has strongly condemned the abduction of its four cadres by the CPN (Maoist) armed group.

The four cadres were released only after they agreed to give a promissory note to the Maoists for Rs 2.5 million.

A statement issued by the Nepali Congress, Rautahat, today said that its active cadres of local Maryadpur VDC-5 — Rajendra Prasad Yadav, Brijnandan Prasad Yadav, Pankaj Prasad Yadav and Ram Prit Thakur — were abducted and made to sign the promissory note.

Around 15 to 20 armed Maoists abducted the four NC cadres at around 8:00 am on July 22 and made them sign the promissory note at gunpoint for Rs 1 million, Rs 1 million and Rs 5 lakhs, respectively, said the NC party district office secretary, Sri Ram Yadav

The NC statement, quoting the victims’ ordeal, added that Maoist cadres Bhola Pandey, Shambhu Yadav, Bipat Pandey, Shahnawaz Khan and Lal Babu Jaysawal were involved in the abduction.

Rautahat’s acting chairman of Nepali Congress, Gambhir Prasad Nirala, has condemned the incident.

He also regretted that the Maoists instead of working for the rehabilitation of displaced persons — in accordance with the 12 point agreement — were still busy driving people away from villages.

The NC statement urged the Maoists to immediately cancel the promissory note and follow their understanding reached with the seven political parties.