Bhubaneswar: Within hours of releasing an abducted junior engineer after days of negotiations with the Orissa government, Maoists on Wednesday made a fresh demand for the immediate release of five key Naxals to free Malkangiri district collector R V Krishna, complicating the issue and prompting the mediators to appeal for his freedom by Thursday.
While naxal leader Ganti Prasadam was on Wednesday granted bail by the Orissa High Court, the Naxals demanded that five others including Padma, wife of a top rebel, and Sriramulu Srinivasulu be also freed from jail, official sources said.
The condition laid by the abductors was conveyed to Malkangiri district administration in a letter sent through the released junior engineer Pabitra Majhi, who had been abducted along with the collector on February 16 from Chitrakonda, they said.
It seems that the abductors were attempting to make it an exchange like affair, they said.
The abductors also expressed their intention to release the collector in public in the presence of the three Maoist-chosen mediators who held talks with Orissa government and project director of District Rural Development Agency (DRDA), Malkangiri, sources said.
Following the new demand, Ganti Prasadam, mediator G. Hargopal and Maoist ideologue Varavara Rao made a joint appeal to the Maoists to release the district collector within 24 hours, by Thursday evening.
Stating that the new issue raised by Naxals was beyond the purview of Orissa government, Hargopal said: "We are happy that the junior engineer has been released but additional condition will complicate the issue as yesterday (Tuesday) we had already made commitment of release of both the hostages in 48 hours."
"We as mediators are surprised. We did not expect additional demand will come up. We appeal to them (abductors) to free the collector in 24 hours, that is tomorrow (Thursday) evening," Hargopal said.
He said their appeal was being aired through radio in English and Telugu as Maoists listen to radio regularly.
The release of the abducted engineer came after the government gave in to nearly 14 demands of the Leftist rebels including release of their jailed comrades.
"For the release of the district collector they have set certain conditions," said G. Haragopal. "It will not be possible for us to abide by these conditions," he said.
Earlier in the day, junior engineer Majhi said the kidnapped collector was safe and the rebels will free him within 48 hours.
People across the state were glued to television sets, awaiting the news of Krishna's release.
"He (collector) is safe and is still in the cut-off area. I do not know the exact location. The Maoists said they will release him within 48 hours," Majhi said at a press conference in the district headquarter town of Malkangiri, about 618 km from here.
"They fed us rice and dal and we were being moved from one place to another" during the week-long captivity, he said. Majhi also said the rebels did not cause any mental or physical harm to them.
Replying to a question about reports that the collector was ill and refused food, Majhi said: "He was in good health and was eating fine."
Majhi was released in the same Chitrakonda area, about 700 km from Bhubaneswar, from where he was kidnapped along with Collector Krishna Feb 16, sending shock waves across the country.
"We don't have any information so far about the release of the collector," a senior state police officer said.
The state government and people from various walks of life, including women, children and media persons, anxiously watched television sets for the latest updates. Thousands of people also rushed to the collector's official residence.
The Maoists had set 14 conditions, including the halt to anti-Maoist operations, release of all political prisoners, and scrapping of accords with multi-national companies for land transfer and projects in Orissa. The government agreed to all the demands after holding negotiations here with the three mediators - Mohanty and Haragopal and R. Someswar Rao.
Curiously, a top Maoist leader who was granted bail as part of the mediation process refused to leave prison, negotiators said.
Wednesday saw the state high court grant bail to Maoist ideologue Ganti Prasadam - one of the seven top rebels whose release was sought in exchange for the freedom of the abducted officials. But Prasadam refused to leave prison, negotiators said.
"Until and unless the government takes steps for the release of over 600 innocent people languishing in various jails on the charge of being involved in Maoist activities, Prasadam says he will not leave prison," said Mohanty.
Orissa Police, on a prison transfer granted by a court, brought Prasadam from a jail in Andhra Pradesh Saturday night after the mediators sought his presence to speed up the negotiations that started Sunday.
Prasadam is facing several charges in Andhra Pradesh and Orissa. His bail petition was moved Monday in the Orissa High Court in Cuttack, 26 km from here, after it was rejected by a lower court.