BHUBANESWAR: The Andhra Odisha Border Zonal Committee (AOBZC) of the CPI(Maoist) holding legislator Jhina Hikaka extended its deadline to April 10 and demanded the release of five more persons lodged in different jails. In a fresh audio tape released on Saturday, a senior Maoist leader of the group said all the prisoners would have to be released without any condition. The five persons are: Cheda Bhusan alias Ghasi, Gananath Patro, Walsi Wadeka, Singa Nachika and Suna Pangi. While Ghasi is a Maoist, the other four are activists of the Chasi Mulia Adivasi Sangh (CMAS). The Maoist leader maintained that Hikaka is in good condition and would be released after the Government meets their demand. “We will take the next step if our demands are not met by April 10,” the Maoist leader added.Meanwhile, talks between the State Government and the Maoist interlocutors for the release of Italian national Paolo Bosusco concluded on Saturday with a joint statement. Secretary of the Odisha State Organising Committee of the CPI(Maoist) Sabyasachi Panda had given a deadline of 96 hours on Friday for freeing Bosusco and threatened extreme measures if his demands are not met. In his statement on the hostage crisis in the Assembly, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said the Maoist-appointed mediators have sought the release of six persons: Arati Majhi, Manmohan Pradhan, Suka Nachika, Chakra Tadingi, Bijay Tadingi and Subhashree Das. The State Government has decided to facilitate the release of five persons out of the six persons, he said. Reacting to Sabyasachi Panda’s statement to the media on Friday that the views of mediators, B D Sharma and Dandapani Mohanty, have not been taken into consideration, Naveen said “Panda’s statement is incorrect.” “In view of the State Government’s clarification, in this House, I appeal again to the Odisha State Organising Committee of the CPI(Maoist), headed by Sabyasachi Panda, to release the Italian national Paolo Bosusco, immediately and unharmed,” he said. Naveen said he would like to remind Panda that the Ambassador and the Consul General of Italy are present in Bhubaneswar and are deeply anxious for the release of their countryman. Bosusco, a Puri-based tour operator, was abducted with another Italian Claudio Colangelo on March 14 while they were trekking in Kandhamal district. Colangelo was freed on March 25 as a “goodwill gesture” by the ultras. Hikaka was abducted in Koraput district on March 24 while he was returning to Laxmipur. The hostage crisis figured in the Assembly with members of the Opposition Congress voicing concern about the fate of Hikaka and Bosusco. Congress member Dambarudhar Ulaka said a feeling of insecurity had gripped legislators from Maoist-hit areas.
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