Odisha hostage crisis: Abducted MLA Hikaka's wife appeals to Maoists

The Maoists in Odisha may have freed Italian Paolo Bosusco after holding him captive for nearly a month yesterday, but the hostage crisis is far from over. A legislator from the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) Jhina Hikaka continues to be held captive by another faction of the Maoists.

NDTV reports that Hikaka’s wife, Kaushalya, has now appealed to the Andhra-Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee (AOBSZC), the faction holding him hostage, to release him safely.

“The Maoists didn’t have any personal enmity with my husband. They have taken him so that their demands are met, I want to tell them that he is an honest man and they should free him and send him back safe and sound, I have my trust in the state government, they are trying their best… the Chief Minister has assured me that my husband will be brought back safely,” she said.

NDTV adds that Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will visit the Koratpur district today for a review meeting on Hikaka’s abduction. He is also expected to visit Hikaka’s house in Lakhimpur and meet his wife and family.

Hikaka was kidnapped on 24 March from the Koraput district when he was returning home to Laxmipur.