Hikaka release efforts hit bail hurdle

                                                            
BHUBANESWAR/ KORAPUT: A day after Maoists freed Italian Bosusco Paolo from their month-long custody, the Odisha government on Friday said it was in touch with the Red rebels' lawyers to facilitate the release of certain prisoners so as to secure freedom for abducted Laxmipur legislator Jhina Hikaka. The jailed persons, whom the government wants to free, however, do not want to go on bail and want withdrawal of cases against them.

"The district administration (of Koraput) has taken up the matter of filing of bail petitions with the advocate of the members of the Chasi Muliya Adivasi Sangha (CMAS) and members of CPI (Maoist). Bail petitions are being organized," home secretary U N Behera told media persons here. Koraput collector Sachin Jadhav said, "We are trying to convince the lawyer (of CMAS and Maoists) to move bail petitions." However, Nihar Patnaik, a lawyer who represents some members of CMAS and CPI (Maoist), told TOI: "My clients are not willing to file bail applications. They want withdrawal of cases against them."

This came on a day chief minister Naveen Patnaik undertook a whirlwind trip to Koraput and briefed Hikaka's family members about measures the state government had initiated to free the MLA. "The family is deeply distressed and anxious under these terrible circumstances. I explained to them the state government's efforts to facilitate the MLA's release," Naveen said. Hikaka's wife Kaushalya said the CM assured her of her husband's return. "I strongly believe he will come back," she said, appealing to Maoists to free Hikaka. Naveen also deliberated for two hours on the hostage crisis and local development issues with legislators and district officials.

Earlier, co-advisor of CMAS, Dandapani Mohanty, had said the organization's president, Nachika Linga, had told him that they would not seek release of its activists by moving bail applications in courts and wants the government to withdraw the cases against those CMAS activists whom it has committed to release. Mohanty said the government can withdraw cases under section 321 of Criminal Procedure Code, which provides for the public prosecutor in charge of a case, with the consent of the court, before the judgment is pronounced withdraw from prosecution of a person under trial. The state government, which describes CMAS as a Maoist frontal outfit, had on April 5 announced it would free 23 persons (15 CMAS activists and eight Maoists) for Hikaka's freedom and four others for Paolo's release. Those to be freed for the Italian include two CMAS activists, Suka Nachika (who is relative of Nachika Linga) and Chakra Tadingi. 

from  times of india