The ongoing hostage drama in Orissa triggered by the kidnapping of Italian tourist Paolo Boscusco and BJD MLA Jina Hikaka, which has now stretched beyond a fortnight, is being seen by intelligence and security agencies as a deliberate ploy by the Maoists.
In a specific alert issued both to the Centre and the Orissa government, the intelligence agencies have categorically stated that the Naxals “are in no tearing hurry of a breakthrough in negotiations as they are using this period for regrouping and consolidating their position in a big way.”
The Naxals are taking advantage of the fact that in an attempt to ensure safety of the MLA and the Italian tourist, the security forces have scaled down their operations in the worst Naxal-infested states of Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Bihar. But there are now specific reports that Naxals are fast consolidating their position in these key states.
“Though officially we are continuing our anti-Naxal operations, the scale is much toned down since the hostage crisis started. One small mistake on our part can endanger the lives of the hostages. What has made the situation even more critical is that there already talk of a rivalry among the two Naxal factions involved in the kidnapping. There is concrete information that the Naxals are gaining lost ground, particularly along the Orissa-Andhra border which is strategically very important to them,” a senior CRPF official said.
The Naxals had released one of the kidnapped Italians Sunday, raising hopes of an early breakthrough. But it now seems the drama is likely to continue for another few days. Intelligence agencies in their advisory have said that the state must talk tough with the interlocutors to break the deadlock. “It seems the two negotiators are also deliberately gaining time by putting the onus on the state government by raising unreasonable demands,” the official added.
Interestingly, the recent Naxal attack on a CRPF vehicle in Gadchiroli that killed about a dozen paramilitary personnel is being seen as part of the Naxal resurgence since the scaling down of armed operations against them has come as a shot in the arm for the red brigade.