Naxals 145;abducted146; Atram in 146;91

Dharmaraobaba Atram, who resigned on Monday as Maharashtra8217;s Transport Minister following a controversy over his alleged involvement in the Chinkara hunting case, had made the headlines in 1991 following his alleged abduction by Naxalites.

Atram, then a Congress MLA from Sironcha, was attending a marriage in Medpalli village on Alapalli-Bhamragarh road on April 24, when Naxalites led by the then Perimili Dalam commander Devji abducted him. Devji at present is a Central Committee member of CPI Maoist.

The Naxalites had demanded the release of a senior cadre Shivanna along with his accomplices. After about 19 days of intensive but futile search, an activist and advocate from Chandrapur Eknath Salve had brokered his release. In exchange, the Government had to release Shivanna.

However, a lot of questions had remained unanswered then. The police never got to know from where Atram was rescued, as Salve had produced him directly in Chandrapur.