The Maoists on Thursday released Italian hostage Basusco Paolo, bringing some relief to the Orissa government. Some Naxals are still holding BJD MLA Jhina Hikaka in captivity. Mr Paolo was abducted March 14 from the Daringibadi area of Kandhamal district by a group led by Orissa’s Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda.
The rebels handed Mr Paolo over to mediator Dandapani Mohanty at an undisclosed location near Raikia in Kandhamal district around 5 am Thursday. Mr Mohanty then drove to Bhubaneswar and handed him over to state home secretary Upendra Nath Behera.
After a medical examination, Mr Paolo was left in the care of Italian ambassador to India Giacomo Sanfelice di Monteforte and consul-general Joel Nechior.
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BEML, tatra MoU signed sans MoD nod?
Pramod Kumar
New Delhi, April 12
The CBI probe into the Tatra trucks deal has revealed that the MoU for the supply of 600 all-terrain trucks between Tatra Sipox-UK and the state-owned Bharat Earth Movers Limited was signed in Bengaluru on June 14, 1997, within three days of a meeting held between top officials of the two companies in Slovakia.
Agency officials suspect that the MoU was allegedly signed without the approval of the BEML board and also without prior information to the ministry of defence.