E-Paper
After bail, Ganti Prasadam unwilling to move out of jail
The Orissa high court granted bail to jailed Maoist ideologue Ganti Pradam today.
The Orissa high court granted bail to jailed Maoist ideologue Ganti Pradam on Wednesday.
But he reportedly will prefer to stay in jail till the Orissa government takes steps to release about 600 of his comrades.
The Maoists sought the release of Prasadam in exchange of abducted Malkangiri collector R Vineel Krishna and junior engineer Pabitra Majhi, who had been abducted on February 16.
Majhi was released on Wednesday, but Krishna is still in Maoist captivity, though unconfirmed reports had said that both were released on Tuesday.
“Prasadam said that he would not leave the jail until and unless the government released those innocents languishing in various jails of Orissa on charges of being Maoists,” said Dandapani Mohanty, one of the three mediators, who took part in the negotiation process to secure Krishna and Majhi’s release.
State government officials refused to comment on whether Prasadam's stand would come in the way of Krishna's release. Along with Mohanty, Prasadam played a crucial role in defusing the week-long hostage crisis.
Prasadam, who was in Ongole jail in Andhra Pradesh, was brought on Monday morning to a Koraput court, about 600 km southwest of Bhubaneswar. After being taken to judicial custody, he was brought to a Bhubaneswar jail on the same night, so that he could take part in the negotiation process.
