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'I was treated quite well', says Jhina Hikaka | Odisha MLA Jhina Hikaka, who was released by the Maoists at a village in Koraput, on Thursday said that he was
made to stay in adverse conditions in the forest, but the ultras did not ill treat
him. "I was staying in adverse conditions in the forest but they showed good behaviour
towards me. They decided to release me on their Praja court. I did whatever was
decided by the Praja court," he said. Meanwhile, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader
Prafulla Ghadei condemned the demand of the Maoists wherein they asked Hikaka
to quit as the member of the legislative assembly. "We are all happy today that
the young tribal MLA Jhina Hikaka has been released. For the release of the honourable
MLA, government particularly our chief minister has made all efforts but a bad
precedence is being created, forcible decision, to force somebody to resign particularly
elected representative is a bad precedence in the democratic set-up of our country,"
he said. Hikaka was released unharmed by Maoists earlier in the day at a village
in Koraput, 33 days after he was abducted from the same district by the rebels.
Hikaka was reportedly escorted by a group of tribals to Balipeta village in Maoist-affected
Narayanpatna area, where he was believed to have been produced in a Maoist 'praja'
court, which agreed to set him free. He was handed over by the tribals to his
wife, Kaushalya Majhi, and a lawyer who fights cases for the ultras and their
frontal organisations, Nihar Ranjan Patnaik. The decision to free Hikaka was taken
by a people's court on Tuesday after he gave a written undertaking that he will
resign from the state assembly and also try to fulfill the Maoists' demands. While
the Maoists had demanded release of 29 prisoners in exchange for Hikaka's freedom,
the state government decided to consider the release of 25 jailed people, including
eight Maoists. The Odisha Government has decided to withdraw cases against 13
jailed ultras, including five Maoists, apart from facilitating the release of
12 through bail, sources said. Hikaka was kidnapped near Toyaput after a large
group of armed men stopped him as he was being driven through a hilly area some
500 kilometres away from Bhubaneshwar on March 24. |
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