With Orissa in a bind,Naxals tighten screws,up demands

Though Patnaik had announced the release of 15 activists and eight Maoists (including two hardcore Andhra rebels) in exchange for Hikaka,his abductors have demanded the release of five more Maoists and their sympathisers,including Chenda Bhushanam alias Ghasi. Senior policemen in-charge of anti-Maoist operations in Orissa say that under no circumstances can Ghasi be released. “Over my dead body,” said a senior official. “Ghasi is more powerful than 10 Sabyasachi Pandas put together. He is that dangerous.”

Panda objected today to the “confusion” over the persons the government was willing to release,telling it to clarify which five of the seven he had listed — Kamalkanta Sethi,Sujata,Subhashree Das,Sudarsan Mandal,Gananath Patra,Arati Majhi and Nachika Suka — were being freed. The government has so far only announced the names of Subhashree (Panda’s wife),Arati and Nachika.