Gorakhpur (UP): Police arrested three more persons in UP in connection with the kidnapping of two NHPC (National Hydroelectric Power Corporation) engineers in Bihar's Bettiah district even as the search for one of the abductees T Mandal continued.

Among the three persons arrested by Maharajganj police last night (Nov 27, 2004) is the tractor driver whose vehicle was allegedly used by the abductors to flee while the police launched raids that led to the rescue of NHPC chief engineer K K Singh from a village on Friday (Nov 26, 2004), police said.

All the three are being interrogated, police said.

An alleged kidnapper Vinod Tewari was arrested in neighbouring Maharajganj district yesterday (Nov 27, 2004) while hunt was continuing for his associate Pintu Tewari.

Both are prime accused in the case and were seen with the kidnapped engineers, police said.

The two NHPC engineers were kidnapped from Bettiah district on November 19 and one of them was rescued on Friday in a joint operation of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar police.