Maoists set terms to release two hostage officials

Bhubaneswar, Mar 30 (UNI) The armed Maoists, who took two government officials as hostage after raiding the small town of R Udayagiri on March 26, have put forward several conditions for their release.

A letter bearing the signatures of R Udayagiri Jail Superintendent Rabi Narayan Sethy and Officer-in-Charge Ranjan Mallick have urged Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to release them fulfilling the demands of the Maoists.

They said the Maoists have demanded ban on handing over the state's natural resources to foreign companies, stop supression of the people's movement and displacement in the name of industrialisation.

They also said that a murder case should be filed against the state Home Minister for killings by police in incidents like Mandrabaju to Kalinga Nagar incident.

The two officers further said the left-wing ultras have demanded that the Maoists, imprisoned in various jails in the state, be treated as political prisoners and all the 'false cases' lodged against them be withdrawan and released on bail.

They also said the Maoists have demanded release of four prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment on a 'fake' case and a halt in the combing operation jointly launched by Orissa and Andhra Pradesh police in the wake of the R Udayagiri incident.

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