Bhubaneswar: The Orissa government on Tuesday brought here a top Maoist to speed up the negotiation process for the release of a district collector and a junior engineer held hostage by Maoists since February 16, officials said.
"A special police team brought Ganti Prasadam from a jail in Koraput to Bhubaneswar by road. Prasadam reached here early Tuesday. He has been kept in city's Jharpada jail," a senior police officer said.
"As soon as he arrived here, two of the mediators met him in jail and held discussions with him," he added.
The presence of Ganti Prasadam - a Maoist ideologue, who has been facing several charges in Andhra Pradesh and Orissa, was sought by mediators negotiating with the government for the safe release of the hostages.
Malkangiri collector R. Vineel Krishna, and junior engineer Pabitra Mohan Majhi were abducted by the Maoists February 16.