A police official earlier hinted at the rebels' role in the disappearance of Tyagi, a sociology research fellow in her mid-20s from the Stony Brook University in New York.

But a few hours after a police official in Jamui confirmed that there was no trace of Tyagi for the past two days, Bihar Police chief Neelmani denied that she was abducted when on a visit to the rural areas of the district in pursuit of her research on the Maoists.

"She was not abducted, we have no reports of her abduction but police have been investigating into the case from all angles," Neelmani told newspersons.

Tyagi herself contacted a local television news channel Thursday and denied that she was abducted by the Maoists. She claimed that she was fine, safe and busy doing her research work in a village but refused to say anything about her exact location.

A Jamui police official told IANS by telephone, on condition of not being named, that Tyagi was actually released by the Maoists following police searches Wednesday.

"Top brass of the state administration, including police, downplayed Juhi's abduction case to protect the image of the state and managed to free her from the clutches of the Maoists. Police asked her to deny that she was abducted," a district official said.

Jamui Superintendent of Police Ram Narain Singh earlier in the day told IANS by phone that Tyagi, a resident of Bangalore, had been missing for two days along with a local, Pradeep Das.

The two were meeting some villagers, suspected to be Maoist sympathisers, he said.

Tyagi arrived in Jamui June 15. She had visited the district earlier also. Jamui is considered to be a stronghold of the outlawed Communist Party of India-Maoist.

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