Maoists agree to free Bihar cops today
CM offers safe passage; rebels reject talks
In what appears to be the result of a discreet deal between the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar and Maoists, the insurgents on Saturday said they would release the three abducted policemen, but rejected the administration’s talks offer.
Declaring that the three policemen, held in captivity for the last six days, would be set free on Sunday morning, Avinash Kumar, a self-proclaimed CPI (Maoist) spokesman, said the cops were on their way from the jungles at Haveli-Kharagpur to Lakhisarai where they would be released.
The Maoists’ promise came hours after an all-party meeting here on Saturday when Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced giving safe passage to the insurgents if they came forward for talks but only after the policemen were released.
The details of the deal, if any, are being kept a closely guarded secret, especially because it appeared after the all-party meeting that the state govenment had wilted to intense pressure the Maoists had subjected it to by frequent claims of executing the remaining three policemen.
Immediately after the meeting ended, Nitish made a fervent appeal to the Maoists not to cause any harm to the three policemen who continue to remain captives despite desperate attempts to rescue them. He said his government’s priority was the safety of the cops.
Following the marathon all-party meeting here, Nitish said: “Since my government is willing to talk, the Maoists should come forward and hold parleys. But before a dialogue begins, we appeal to them (the insurgents) to release the three.”
Lalu skips meet
The meeting was attended by representatives of the RJD, LJP, Congress, CPI, CPM, NCP, BSP and CPI(ML). But RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and LJP president Ram Vilas Paswan stayed away.
What has, however, revealed that the government had earlier buckled under the hostage drama pressure is that while it continued to publicly declare that more and more security forces have been deployed to secure the release of the three untraced policemen, it was now prepared to give safe passage to the Maoists.
The police, despite claims that heavy combing operations were on in the jungles of Lakhisarai, failed to get any clue about the hostages’ whereabouts. ADGP (Headquarters) P K Thakur, however, put up a brave front, saying: “In the battle against the rebels, we will emerge victorious.”
At the same time, the police claimed to have nabbed two hardcore CPI(Maoist) area commanders. Police sources said that the arrests could be effected following tracking of cellphones which the insurgents used to remain in constant touch with a section of the electronic media.
The arrested Naxalites are said to have told the police that the three abducted policemen were safe.
Across the state, school children were mobilised to take out a candle-lit march when they also prayed for the immediate release of the policemen whose families are spending sleepless days and nights in their respective native villages.
