Odisha hostage crisis: Maoists free one Italian hostage

 A day after the two mediators quit talks, Maoists in Odisha on Sunday freed one of the two Italian hostages.

Maoists freed Claudio Colangelo (61) unharmed but there was no word on the second abducted Italian Bosusco Paolo (54) and BJD MLA Jhina Hikaka (37).

Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda, who is named as 'Sunil', handed over Claudio Colangelo to a selected group of media persons somewhere in the district of Kandhamal. Panda said one of the two Italian hostages has been freed as a "goodwill gesture" and to "carry their message to the Odisha government".

The Maoists released the Italian following "appeal from people and a cross section of society".

The development came hours after state Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik held a meeting of top state police and administrative officials on the hostage crisis.

Meanwhile, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said his government would like to resume negotiation with the Maoist-nominated mediators to secure release of the other Italian still held captive by the ultras.

Patnaik expressed happiness at the release of one of the two Italians, 61-year-old Claudio Colangelo.

The CM had requested the Maoists to name new persons to re-start the negotiations after the mediators quit the talks.

The guerillas had abducted the two Italians from a forested area on the border of state's Ganjam and Kandhamal district on March 14.

On Saturday, the rebels kidnapped ruling BJD legislator and popular tribal leader Jhina Hikaka in Koraput district.

The kidnapping of Hikaka took place even as the government was holding dialogue with the rebels through their mediators for the release of the Italians.

Social activist Dandapani Mohanty and tribal expert BD Sharma, who were named by the rebels to mediate, withdrew from negotiation after holding dialogue with the three officials represented by the government for three days. They blamed both the government and the Maoists for the disruption in talks.

The two told reporters that after the abduction of the Italian tourists, the state committee of the banned Communist Party of India-Maoist declared a ceasefire.

The government also promised that there would be no coercive action by the security forces as long as there is no violence from the Maoists.

"But the fact is that while we are discussing in Bhubaneswar, unfortunate incidents of disrupting peace continued in many parts of the state," they said. "We feel that this is a mockery of peaceful talks and negotiations."

The rebels have set 13 demands for the release of all hostages including a ban on the visit of tourists to the tribal areas, halt to anti-Maoist operations, and release of several prisoners.

Odisha MLA abducted,, CM called a high-level meeting today

 Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday called a high-level meet following the abduction of a party MLA by Maoists.

Jhina Hikaka, a tribal BJD legislator from Laxmipur, was abducted in Koraput district in the early hours of Saturday, police said.

Hikaka was returning home from Koraput when more than 50 armed rebels stopped his vehicle near Toyaput, Koraput Superintendent of Police Avinash Kumar said.

While the personal security officer (PSO) and driver of the MLA were allowed to leave, Hikaka was taken away into the nearby forest, about 40 km from here by the ultras at gunpoint, he said.

The PSO and driver informed the Laxmipur police station about the incident, Kumar said, adding steps have been initiated to ascertain the whereabouts of the legislator.

In New Delhi, the Home Ministry sources said the state government had been tipped-off about a possible high-level abduction by the Maoists.

The latest kidnapping came 10 days after the Maoists took two Italians hostage from Kandhamal district on March 14 and talks were in progress between rebel-nominated negotiators and government representatives to resolve the crisis.

The incident happened hours after CM Patnaik appealed to the rebels to desist from violence.

Meanwhile, Maoist negotiators engaged to end the Italian hostage crisis - BD Sharma and Dandapani Mohanty – have appealed to the Maoists to release the legislator without delay.

Deadline ends, no word yet on abducted Italians

The deadline for the release of two Italians, who were kidnapped by Maoists in Odisha’s Kandhamal district, expired on Sunday but there was no word on them Monday morning.

The Italian duo have been identified as Bosusco Paolo, 54, and Claudio Colangelo, 61.

Meanwhile, the two Indians who were also taken hostage along with the two Italians, have been released by the Maoists.

Driver Kartik Parida and cook Santosh Maharana, both residents of Puri, are being interrogated by the police, reports said.

They have told the police that the Italians are safe.

Maoists have put forward a set of 13 demands in order to release the Italians. These include halt to anti-Naxal operations, withdrawal of cases against tribal people lodged in jails 'in the name of Maoists' and implementation of the 'agreement' with the rebels for the release of the then collector of Malkangiri district in February last year.

According to an eyewitness, the Italians had gone along with the two to the district of Kandhamal March 12 on a four-day trekking trip.

On March 14 morning, about 7-6 people came with guns when they were sitting near a rivulet. The rebels took the four to the forest after tying their hands and covering their eyes with cloth.

The Maoists, in an audio message sent to local media said the tourists were kidnapped at the border of Ganjam and the communally sensitive Kandhamal district.

The abduction has brought to light the issue of unauthorized visits of foreign tourists to tribal areas. The state government last month had imposed restriction on the visit of foreign tourists and researchers to the areas inhabited by tribals.

One of the Italians was living in the coastal beach town of Puri for the past several years and illegally running a tour agency to facilitate the visit of foreigners to the tribal areas, local officials said.

A Maoist calling himself Sabyasachi Panda said in the audio message, "We have imprisoned two Italian tourists."

The Maoist leader also said they had enough evidence that the tour operators bribed the administration to allow foreigners to visit the interior areas despite a ban.

"We have apprehended two Italian tourists who like hundreds of foreign tourists are encouraged by the government to visit tribal areas, treat the tribals as monkeys, chimpanzees and objects of ridicule," he stated.

"We appeal people to raise their voice against such inhuman practices,'' the Maoist leader stated.

He said the tourists were picked after they were found taking photographs of some tribal women near a rivulet.

Meanwhile, India Sunday informed Italy of the efforts being made by the Odisha government for early release of the two Italian nationals as External Affairs Minister SM Krishna spoke to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik about the evolving situation.

Patnaik informed Krishna of the ongoing efforts being made by his government for an early release of the abducted Italian nationals.

In another development the Italian consul-general in Kolkata Joel Melchiori arrived in the state capital Bhubaneswar and discussed with top officials the situation.

Melchiori told reporters he hoped the government will find a solution and rescue the abducted Italians as early as possible.

Chief Minister Patnaik, who reviewed the situation with top police and administrative officials Sunday, has appealed to the Maoists to release the two Italians and hold a dialogue with the government.

"I appealed to the left-wing extremists to release them immediately on humanitarian grounds," Patnaik told reporters here. "The government of Odisha is open to negotiations," he said.

Maoists are active in more than half of the state's 30 districts and the district of Kandhamal is considered a stronghold.

Four people were shot dead by Maoists in a village in Bihar

Bullet-riddled bodies of four villagers abducted by Maoists have been recovered from a pond in Banka district of Bihar, police said on today.

Mansoor Ansari, Kallu Ansari, Kashim Ansari and Sahadat Ansari - whose bodies were found in a pond at Behrar village - were kidnapped from Kanaudi village in Bihar's Jamui district on Thursday.

The ultras shot them dead and dumped the bodies into the pond, sources said.

Maoists had killed three villagers and abducted these four people from Kanaudi village.

Maoists raided the village on Thursday night and killed Mumtaz Ansari, Fakhruddin and Samimul Ansari.

Police in Jamui and Banka districts have launched a joint combing operation against Maoists, officials said.