The Orissa government on Saturday stepped up efforts to secure release of young IAS officer R. Vineel Krishna and junior engineer Pabitra Mohan Majhi from Maoist custody, even as the designated interlocutors arrived here in the evening to set in motion the negotiation process to gain their freedom.
Signaling initiation of negotiation process, Maoist prisoner Sriramulu Srinivas, one of the imprisoned rebels wanted released as their pre-condition for freeing their hostages, late on Saturday afternoon moved his bail application in Malkangiri district fast track court.
The development may sound coincidence, but is viewed in official circle as the first move by the state government towards meeting Maoists’ demand for release of two hostages including the Malkangiri district collector.
Srinivas is currently incarcerated in Malkangiri jail after his arrest in 2007. He has been acquitted of all the six cases filed against him in the meantime. But, soon after his acquittal, he was implicated in a case of July 2007.
Meanwhile, Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik announced in the Assembly that both the hostages were safe and in good health in Maoist custody.
In a related development, the Orissa Assembly on Saturday passed a unanimous resolution appealing for safe release of Mr Krishna and Mr Majhi. All the parties backed the government efforts to secure release of the two officers.
Members cutting across party lines expressed solidarity with the family members of the hostages at this hour and appealed to the abductors to free them unharmed.
Meanwhile, the two negotiators handpicked by the Maoists — Prof. Somasiva Rao and Prof. Haragopal — arrived here in the evening to begin the negotiation process.
In the meantime, Maoists have also proposed names of a few journalists like Sudhir Patnaik, Sudhakar Patnaik and convener of Jan Adalat Manch to act as mediators.