Cops: MLA ignored standard protocol
Abducted BJD legislator Jhina Ekaka had overlooked the standard operating procedure (SOP) prescribed by the state home department after the February, 2011 abduction of R. Vineel Krishna, ex-collector of Malkangiri.
The SOP prescribes that MLAs, MPs, state and Union ministers and other VVIPs must not travel in the Naxal-hit district after sunset and before sunrise.
It also lays down that before visiting the Naxal-hit areas, they must inform the local police and take adequate security. Besides, they must take a detour on their return journey. “In the present case, the MLA had neither informed the local police nor avoided night travel, knowing very well that he was risking his life,” a senior home department official said.
In another development, as sources said, there has been a split between the Maoist rebels who kidnapped two Italian hikers on March 14 and the kidnappers of the MLA.
While Sabyasachi Panda, the Orissa State Organising secretary, engineered the abduction of the Italian nationals, the Srikakula-Koraput Divisional Committee abducted the legislator. “Both the groups want to score over each other. The SKDC, which is dominated by Telugu cadres from Andhra Pradesh, do not want to see that Sabyasachi Panda reaps rich dividends from his Italian hostages,” sources said.
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