Kolkata, March 6 (IANS) The family of an abducted school teacher in West Bengal Saturday appealed to the Maoists to show mercy and release him, even as police and joint forces launched search operations.

'We request the abductors to release my father as he is the only earning member in our family. Earlier, we heard the Maoists had released a police officer. We hope they will listen to our appeal this time,' school teacher Rajat Dule's son, Raunak, told reporters while breaking down in tears.

Dule, a former Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) supporter, was abducted by a group of suspected Maoists in Bankura district's Sarenga village, 160 km west of here, Friday.

Raunak said his father was not involved in any political activities in the village.

'My father recently became the headmaster of Sarulia Secondary School,' he said.

The Sidhu-Kanhu Gana militia, the armed wing of Maoist-backed People's Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCAPA), has claimed responsibility for the abduction.

They have demanded the immediate release of six people recently arrested from the same village for allegedly carrying out Maoist activities, local sources said.

'We are probing the matter. We cannot say anything about the abduction now,' Inspector General of Police (Western Range) Zulfiqar Husan told IANS.