Bhubaneswar:
Five jailed Maoists moved the High Court in Cuttack for bail today.
The move came as talks between the Orissa government and the three mediators chosen by Maoists for the release of abducted Malkangiri Collector and junior engineer entered the second day today.
The Maoists include Ganti Prasad, Sireesha alias Padma (wife of top Maoist RamKrishna), Gokul Kuldipia, Rozy Mannangi and Andaluri Ishwari.
The Maoists had earlier said that no talks can happen unless two of their jailed leaders - Ganti Prasad and Sriramulu Srinivas - are released as they want them to represent the party in the negotiation process.
(Read: List of prisoners Maoists want freed)However, fate of Sriramulu Srinivas' bail plea is uncertain. The fast-track court in Malkangiri has reserved its ruling on his bail plea until Tuesday.
A government pleader has raised serious objections to the bail plea of Sriramulu who is the main accused in the murder of the Andhra Pradesh Home Minister a few years back.
Sources have told NDTV that the Orissa government, under pressure from people across the state, is reportedly considering giving in to their demand of setting the Maoist leaders free. There are indications that it may drop or dilute serious criminal charges for lack of evidence against them, so that the court may consider granting them bail.
Malkangiri Collector R Vineel Krishna and junior engineer Pabitra Majhi were abducted from Malkangiri district on Wednesday evening. The state government said on Saturday they were safe and in good health.
On Thursday, the Maoists sent a list of seven demands to the Naveen Patnaik government. They said they will release the two kidnapped officials only if Central forces were withdrawn from Malkangiri. They also demanded an end to Operation Greenhunt and the release of arrested Maoists. In the four-page demand letter, the Maoists also said that Vineel Krishna was a part of the 'repressive regime' in Orissa.