Chhattisgarh cops hostage crisis still unsolved

RAIPUR - Four Chhattisgarh policemen, of the seven kidnapped by Maoist guerrillas Sep 19, are still in Maoist captivity but safe and about to be released soon, police here said Wednesday.

Seven policemen were abducted Sep 19 from Bhopalpatnam area of Bijapur, over 500 km from here, close to the Andhra Pradesh border. Three of them were killed a day later, while Assistant Sub-Inspector Sukhram Bhagat as well as Constables B. Toppo, Narendra Bhosle and Subhash Ratre were spared but held hostage.

“The Maoists have mainly demanded the immediate halt of the anti-Maoist drive Green Hunt, release of a few people of four villages of Bijapur district arrested on charges of unlawful activities, judicial probe into alleged fake encounters and initiation of peace talks,” Director General of Police (DGP) Vishwa Ranjan told IANS.

“We are making efforts at all levels and are hopeful they (cops) will be released at the earliest,” Vivekanand Sinha, deputy inspector general here at police headquarters, told reporters.

“Reliable sources and inputs confirm the abducted cops are safe,” he added.

Sinha also denied reports that the four policemen had been released at a forested location somewhere in the state’s restive Bastar region that has been considered a nerve centre of Maoists for nearly three decades.

After a week of uncertainty over the fate of the abducted cops, Maoists Sunday evening set a 48-hour deadline for releasing them. The rebels dropped a few handwritten leaflets in Bijapur district’s interiors stating their demands. The deadline was reportedly extended Tuesday evening by another 24 hours.