Maoist factionalism may be behind BJD MLA's abduction:Report
The tribal BJD MLA Jhina Hikaka was kidnapped from Koraput district which was preceded by the gunning down of a police sub-inspector in Malkangiri on March 22 and the killing of two policemen in a landmine blast in Koraput on March 18.
"These
incidents
took
place
during
talks
between
the
state
government
and
Maoist
negotiators
to
end
the
Italian
hostage
crisis.
A
ceasefire
had
also
been
declared
by
them.
It
brings
to
the
fore
rivalry
among
Maoist
factions,"
a
senior
police
officials
said.
A senior intelligence official said on condition of anonymity that top Maoist leader, Sabyasachi Panda, who appeared to have been sidelined in the higher hierarchy of rebel leadership, might be behind the March 14 abduction of the two Italians Paolo Basusco and Claudio Colangelo in a bid to assert his command in the region.
In an attempt to counter Panda's move and expose his limited control, the Andhra Odisha Border Zonal Committee (AOBZC) probably may have engineered the abduction of the legislator.
The same group, active in undivided Koraput and adjoining areas of Andhra Pradesh, was also believed to be behind the killing of sub-inspector KC Rath at Khairput in Malkangiri district on March 22, he said.
In Odisha, the Maoists operate under two groups - Odisha State Organising Committee (OSOC) and AOBZC having control over different divisions of ultras.
While OSOC functions in several districts including Kandhamal, Nayagarh, Ganjam and Gajapati, AOBZC has been operating in tribal dominated Malkangiri, Koraput and adjoining districts of the state, said a researcher in the ultra left movement.
While
OSOC
has
claimed
responsibility
for
the
abduction
of
the
two
Italians
and
conveyed
their
demands
through
the
media,
no
outfit
has
so
far
owned
responsibility
for
the
kidnapping
of
the
MLA
though
it
is
suspected
to
have
been
enacted
by
AOBZC.
PTI