Acting on a tip-off, the police intercepted a Bolero jeep and nabbed the three contractors of Power Grid Corporation, while they were on way to pay Rs 75,000 extortion money to the Maoists in lieu of being allowed to go ahead with construction works, Superintendent of Police (SP) Upendera Kumar Sharma said.
A group of armed Maoists tried to foil the contractors arrest by firing on the cops who retaliated and in the ensuring exchange of fire the ultras managed to escape, Sharma added.