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Odisha govt faces fresh hostage crisis

The Maoists reportedly freed in the early hours of Sunday the two Italian nationals they kidnapped last week, but abducted Jhina Hikaka, an MLA belonging to the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD), from the tribal-dominated Koraput district of Odisha.

According to unconfirmed reports, Paolo Basusco and Claudio Colangleo, were released by a group of armed Maoists on a narrow road near Daringibadi in Kandhamal district just after midnight. They were reported to be on their way to Daringibadi police station. The release came about through the intervention of the Dr B D Sharma and Dandapani Mohanty, the two interlocutors who negotiated with the state government on behalf of the Maoists.

The kidnapping of Hikaka has shocked the entire state, besides creating another headache for the Naveen Patnaik administration, after two Italians were abducted by the Left-wing extremists from Kandhamal district last week.

The police said Hikaka was returning home from Koraput after finishing  party work around 12:30 am when he was kidnapped. The first-time legislator represents Laxmipur in the Assembly.

According to Ugrasen, the driver of the kidnapped MLA, as soon as their vehicle reached Tayaput on the highway between Koraput and Laxmipur, 200-odd armed Maoists stopped them and took the MLA away. The personal security officer of the legislator was with the MLA when the incident happened. “Tell media that the Maoists have kidnapped the MLA,” Ugrasen quoted the naxals as saying.

A few posters and banners were found near the spot. The ultras have demanded the immediate stopping of “Operation Green Hunt,” release of all “political prisoners” and halting of police action against innocent tribals.

This is for the first time in Odisha that the Maoists have kidnapped a sitting MLA. Last year, they had killed BJD legislator Jagabandhu Majhi in the neighbouring Nowrangpur district.

The chief minister told reporters that he had asked two senior ministers to rush to Koraput immediately to take stock of the situation. Patnaik said he had briefed Union Home Minister Chidambaram on the latest developments.

In the young tribal MLA’s constituency, common people, including schoolchildren, came out on the street to protest against the incident. A bundh was also organised at Laxmipur on Saturday. Citizens in the block headquarters town joined the kidnapped MLA’s wife to appeal to the Maoists to release him immediately.

“He has been tirelessly working for the development of tribals. And he had no enemy. Therefore, I request the Maoists to release my husband,” Koushalya Majhi,  wife of the abducted MLA, said.

The opposition Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party not only protested against the kidnapping but also created an uproar in the assembly on Saturday, forcing the speaker to adjourn the House till Monday.

Home Secretary U N Behera, who was leading a three-member team of negotiators from the government side for the release of the two Italians, told reporters that two unfortunate incidents “have taken place while the dialogue process was on.... A police officer has been gunned down in Malkangiri district and now an MLA kidnapped.
Therefore, we have decided to halt the dialogue process as suggested by the two interlocutors from the Maoists side.”

Earlier, B D Sharma and Dandapani Mohanty, the two mediators who were negotiating on behalf of the Maoists, also said there was no point in continuing with the negotiations in view of the unfortunate incidents.

The chief minister on Saturday evening appealed to the Maoists to name fresh mediators and new interlocutors to initiate talks with the state government  to set free the abducted MLA.