In a gruesome incident, agitated employees of a steel plant Thursday burnt alive deputy general manager Radheshyam Ray at Titlagarh town, 450 km from here. He received 90 per cent burns and died later Thursday.

In a gruesome incident, agitated employees of a steel plant on Thursday burnt alive deputy general manager Radheshyam Ray at Titlagarh town.
“Ray had received 90 per cent burn injury. Despite our serious efforts, we could not save his life. He breathed his last at 5.20 pm,” Dr Usharani Das of the Bolangir district headquarters hospital, said.

After a nine-day drama, the Maoists finally released Malkangiri collector R. Vineel Krishna Thursday evening, handing him over to a group of mediapersons at Doliamba, a cut-off village in the Chitrakonda-Balimela reservoir area, 750 km from here. He was abducted February 16.

The hostage crisis in Orissa took a new turn with the Maoists on Wednesday evening setting fresh conditions for the release of Malkangiri collector R. Vineel Krishna after releasing junior engineer P.M. Majhi.

Speaking to reporters after the fourth day of talks with state government officials, interlocutor G. Hargopal appealed to the Maoists to keep their word and release Malkangiri collector R. Vineel Krishna, and not insist that that fresh conditions be met.

Abducted Malkangiri collector R. Vineel Krishna and junior engineer Pabitra Mohan Majhi were freed by Maoists Tuesday night after the state government conceded to all their demands. The collector and the junior engineer were on their way to the Malkangiri district headquarters from Chitrogonda, where they were held hostage.

The Orissa government seems to have made up its mind to fulfill all the major demands of the Maoists, including release of seven of the top-ranking Maoist activists lodged in various jails in Orissa, Jharkhand and Chhattishgarh, to secure safe release of Malkangiri collector R. Vineel Kumar and junior engineer Pabitra Mohan Majhi who were taken hostages by the rebels on February 16.

The designated interlocutors began talks with top Orissa government officials here Sunday, and both said later that neither the government nor the Maoists would resort to violence while efforts to res

The Orissa government on Saturday stepped up efforts to secure release of young IAS officer R. Vineel Krishna and junior engineer Pabitra Mohan Majhi from Maoist custody, even as the designated interlocutors arrived here in the evening to set in motion the negotiation process to gain their freedom.

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday appealed the Maoists to extend the deadline set by them for fulfilment of their demands for release of the Malkangiri district collector R. Vineel Krishna and Kudumuluguma block junior engineer Pabitra Mohan Majhi.