Naxals to free abducted jawans on Feb 11, says Agnivesh

Raipur, Feb 8 (PTI) The five jawans of ChhattisgarhArmed Force, who were abducted by the Maoists in Bastarregion, are likely to be released on February 11, socialactivist Swami Agnivesh said today.

"Maoists have told me that the jawans are safe andexpressed their desire to hand them over to a group ofintellectuals," Agnivesh told PTI over the phone.

The ultras have demanded that the search operations inthe region be stopped, he added.

Sources in the Chief Minister''s office have confirmedthat Chief Minister Raman Singh has spoken to Swami Agniveshand assured him that the operations will be stopped for thetime being.

"A five-member team will go to Chhattisgarh onFebruary 10. The jawans are expected to be released on themorning of February 11. The Maoists, however, have not yetdisclosed the location of the release," Agnivesh said.

Apart from Agnivesh, the team comprises former DelhiHigh Court Chief Justice Rajinder Sachar, PUCL''s KavitaSrivastava and social workers Satish Dhavan and GautamNaulakha.

On January 25, the jawans -- Head constables RamadharPatel, Raghunandan Dhruv and T Akka; Constables Ranjan Dubeyand Manishankar -- were abducted by the ultras in theNarayanpur district. One villager was also kidnapped, but waslater released.