Jhina Hikaka(above R), 37, a member of the Orissa state assembly, was allowed to walk out of the remote jungle hideout where he had been held captive during weeks of negotiations.    —AFP PHOTO/STR

BHUBANESWAR: Maoist rebels in eastern India on Thursday released a state lawmaker who had been held hostage for more than a month in the latest of a series of kidnappings by the guerrillas.

Jhina Hikaka, 37, a member of the Orissa state assembly, was allowed to walk out of the remote jungle hideout where he had been held captive during weeks of negotiations.

“I am a free man now. They did not torture me. I was treated well,” a tired-looking Hikaka told waiting reporters before he was driven away with his wife.

The rebels, who claim to be fighting for the rights of poor tribals and farmers, said in an audio message that Hikaka had agreed to resign from his post in return for being freed, but no such deal has been confirmed.

The Maoists have in the past kidnapped officials and police officers to raise ransom payments and negotiate other demands. Most hostages have been released unharmed, but some have been killed.

In the first case of foreigners being targeted by the rebels, two Italian men were abducted in Orissa last month. They were both later released unharmed.

A civil servant in the neighbouring state of Chhattisgarh remains held hostage after being picked up on Saturday in an attack in which his two bodyguards were killed.

The government describes the Maoist movement, which often targets police and soldiers with deadly roadside mine ambushes, as India’s biggest internal security threat.

The insurgency, which began in 1967, feeds off land disputes, police brutality and corruption, and is strongest in the poorest and most deprived areas of India, many of which are rich in natural resources.

Opinion

Editorial

Judiciary’s SOS
Updated 28 Mar, 2024

Judiciary’s SOS

The ball is now in CJP Isa’s court, and he will feel pressure to take action.
Data protection
28 Mar, 2024

Data protection

WHAT do we want? Data protection laws. When do we want them? Immediately. Without delay, if we are to prevent ...
Selling humans
28 Mar, 2024

Selling humans

HUMAN traders feed off economic distress; they peddle promises of a better life to the impoverished who, mired in...
New terror wave
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

New terror wave

The time has come for decisive government action against militancy.
Development costs
27 Mar, 2024

Development costs

A HEFTY escalation of 30pc in the cost of ongoing federal development schemes is one of the many decisions where the...
Aitchison controversy
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

Aitchison controversy

It is hoped that higher authorities realise that politics and nepotism have no place in schools.