Patna, Sep 6 (IANS) Maoist guerrillas released three Bihar policemen Monday, seven days after they were abducted from Lakhisarai district, said state police chief Neelmani who added that they were safe and healthy.

'The three policemen have been freed by the Maoists. They are safe and healthy. They will be sent to their respective homes soon,' he told reporters here.

The three policemen - Abhay Prasad Yadav, Rupesh Kumar Sinha and Ehsan Khan - were set free early Monday in Lakho Chak area of Lakhisarai district. They are now in police custody.

The release comes days after the bullet-riddled body of Lucas Tete, another abducted policemen, was found near a forest in Lakhisarai district. He had been killed by the Maoists Sep 3.

Family members of Rupesh in Bettiah district and Ehsan's family in Ranchi in Jharkhand said they were eagerly waiting for them.

'We are happy to hear that my son Ehsan and other policemen have been released by the Maoists. We are waiting to welcome him,' Ehsan's aged father Mohiuddin Khan had told IANS Sunday after it was reported that the Maoists had released the three men. The confirmation from the police came Monday.

The policemen were abducted by Maoists after a six-hour gunfight in Lakhisarai Aug 29.

The gunbattle left seven policemen dead and 10 injured. The Maoists claimed the gunfight was in retaliation for the killing of their leader Cherukuri Rajkumar alias Azad and a journalist on the night of July 1-2 in Andhra Pradesh.