33 days later, Maoists let MLA go

Abducted Odisha MLA Jhina Hikaka was on Thursday freed by Maoists after 33 days in captivity in the state’s Koraput district, over 600 km from Bhubaneswar.

Abducted Odisha MLA Jhina Hikaka was on Thursday freed by Maoists after 33 days in captivity in the state’s Koraput district, over 600 km from Bhubaneswar.

HT Image

“I am well. The Maoists treated me well and never misbehaved,” said Hikaka, 37, as he made his way towards his wife Kaushalya.

The BJD’s Laxmipur MLA thanked tribals and the media for his release, but made no mention of the government’s role.

Asked about his “word” to the Maoists at a kangaroo court that he’d resign from the assembly and the party, Hikaka said: “I am not in a proper mental state. You will know everything later.”

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik and home minister P Chidambaram welcomed Hikaka’s release. “I am very glad. Two weeks ago, I met his old mother. The family was in distress. His mother was ill. The entire state is now relieved,” said Patnaik.

Hikaka, abducted on March 24, is expected to meet Patnaik on Friday. Efforts are on to get Sukma collector Alex Paul Menon, kidnapped by the rebels in Chhattisgarh, freed.