BHUBANESWAR: Even as talks for release of the two Italian hostages are on, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday told the Assembly that the Maoists should desist from indulging in continuous violence to create a conducive atmosphere for facilitating negotiations.
In his statement on the hostage crisis, the Chief Minister said Krushna Chandra Rath, SI, Mudulipada Police Station of Malkangiri district, was killed by the Maoists on Thursday after attending a camp. The district administration was distributing financial assistance among tribal widows at the camp.
Naveen also referred to the killing of two policemen who died after a landmine went off in Koraput district on March 18. “It may be recalled by the members that two policemen were blown up in a landmine blast in Koraput district,” he said.
Naveen said the two negotiators, nominated by the CPI (Maoist) __ Dandapani Mohanty and Dr BD Sharma __ are negotiating with three negotiators from the State Government since Thursday. The three are Home Secretary UN Behera, Panchayati Raj Secretary PK Jena and Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Development Secretary SK Sarangi.
The Chief Minister once again appealed to the CPI (Maoist) to release the two Italian captives unharmed immediately.