The Orissa government on Sunday said it was examining release of some rebels as demanded by Maoists and hoped the Italian hostage crisis would end soon, even as the fate of abducted BJD MLA remained unknown with a rebel-backed outfit yet to respond an invitation to join talks.
A day after the two Maoist mediators left giving time for the state government to take a stand on the demands of the ultras, a senior official said, “The whole issue including conditions like release of jailed ultras is being examined.” As the Maoists have demanded release of about 40 rebels, it would take some time to form a view on the issue after thorough examination, he said. Expre-ssing the hope that prospe-cts appeared to have brightened for the release of Paolo Bosusco, 54-year-old Puri-based Italian tour operator, anot-her official said the abductors of the Italian are expe-cted to honour the appeal made by their mediators.
The two Maoist mediators left on Saturday after 10 days of talks stating that the Odisha government needed time, but promised to be back when needed.
“The issues are complicated and the talks are yet to yield result. Since the government needs more time to examine the demands, we need not wait here,” they said.