Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Abducted BJD MLA Jhina Hikaka is likely to be released by his Maoist captors on Thursday at a village in Koraputs Narayanpatna block after being held hostage for over a month. However,he may have to resign as MLA as the price for his freedom.
Hikaka,MLA of Laxmipur,was abducted by Maoists on the Laxmipur-Koraput Road on the night of March 23.
In an audiotape released on Wednesday,Maoist leader Aruna alias Arunaakka said that a praja court held on Tuesday night agreed to release Hikaka. Aruna said the MLA would be handed over to his wife Kaushalya Majhi and Nihar Ranjan Patnaik,a lawyer for Maoist frontal organisation Chasi Mulia Adivasi Sangh,at Balipeta village of Narayanpatna block at 10 am on Thursday. She warned the government not to send any police with them.
The praja court (peoples court) had taken a decision to release Hikaka as he had accepted his mistakes and assured that he will resign from the Assembly in case the government does not abide by the agreement. He admitted in the court that he had failed to do anything for the tribals after joining the BJD and becoming an MLA, Aruna said.
The agreement that the Maoist leader talked about was the release of all CMAS people lodged in jail and stopping Operation Greenhunt in Koraput and Malkangiri districts. There are 26 CMAS members lodged in Koraput jail.
Aruna said in the last one month,the MLA saw for himself the plight of the tribals and admitted that the state government had failed to solve their problems. He told the praja court that after his release,he would fight for the rights of the tribals.
Though the state government had agreed to release 25 persons,including 17 CMAS members,as per the demands of the Maoists,the rebels raised their demand saying they wanted all jailed CMAS members to be released. In between,the government announced that it would withdraw prosecution against 13 of them.
Official sources said the Maoist pressure on Hikaka to resign from Assembly was at the behest of CMAS president Nachika Linga. Sources said that Nachikas hopes are centred around contesting the bypoll from Laxmipur if Hikaka resigns from his seat.
During this years panchayat polls,the CMAS did not allow the BJD and Congress to put up candidates in the nine gram panchayats of Narayanpatna block. As a result,candidates of CMAS were elected unopposed in six gram panchayats while two of their candidates won after contesting polls. He is eyeing a bigger plot and the Maoists cant undermine his demands as they want to make Narayanpatna their base on the basis of CMAS support, said an official.
BJD MP Kalikesh Singh Deo said that his party was more concerned about the MLAs safe release than anything else at this point.
