Maoists staged another hostage coup in the early hours of the day in Odisha. Jhina Hikaka, legislator from Laxmipur was kidnapped in the early hours of the day in Koraput district. The MLA belonging to the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), while returning home was kidnapped after midnight on Friday says police. On his way back home in the late hours of last night the MLA’s vehicle was intercepted by over 50 armed rebels. They stopped his car near Toyaput, Koraput.

They left free the Personal Security Officer (PSO) and the driver of the MLA. But took Mr Jhina into the nearby forest, about 40 km from Koraput by the ultras at gunpoint, says Koraput Superintendent of Police Avinash Kumar. The PSO and driver informed the Laxmipur police station about the incident. Police are trying their best to trace the people’s representative. This is the second case of kidnap since the last ten days in this region. The two Italian tourists were kidnapped on March 14, from the Kandhmal-Ganjam border.

Government was negotiating with the Maoist representatives’ former bureaucrat and social activist B D Sharma and Civil rights activist Dandapani Mohanty over the release of the Italians, as the fresh crisis sprang up.  The Maoist representatives tentatively appealed to the organization for immediate release of the MLA to facilitative the talks for demands. (With inputs from internet- AarKay)