Bhubaneshwar:
After nine days of being held hostage by Naxals in Orissa, District Collector RV Krishna is finally a free man.
One hour after their deadline expired, and after a u-turn that threatened to break with the compromise reached with the government, the Naxals handed over Mr Krishna to mediapersons.
The 30-year-old IIT-graduate-turned IAS officer was released before a "people's court" in a forested area in Jantapai, 90 kilometres from his home in Malkangiri. TV channels who had been summoned to attend his release showed him seated in a checked shirt and blue pants. He appeared relaxed.
Though the Naxals had served the government with new demands for Mr Krishna's release in the last 24 hours, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said, "The state government did not bow down... but certain commitments have been made."
Mr Krishna was kidnapped along with an engineer named Pabitra Majhi on February 16 from Orissa's Malkangiri district. Days of intense negotiations with the government followed - they were conducted by three mediators appointed by the Naxals.
On Tuesday night, a settlement was announced. The two hostages were to be released within 48 hours. In return, the government agreed to 14 conditions, including the release from prison of Ganti Prasad, a senior Naxal leader who was arrested in November. Keeping its end of the deal, the government said in court yesterday that the charges of sedition against Mr Prasad could not be proved; he was granted bail.
A few hours later, Mr Majhi returned from the Naxal camp in the thick forest along the Andhra-Orissa border where he had been kept with Mr Krishna. But there was no sign of the Collector. And then the Naxals announced a new set of terms and conditions that included the release from jail of another five leaders, including a senior Naxal named Sriramulu Srinivas who is currently in the Malkangiri jail.
Mediators urged the Naxals not to impose new demands; so did Ganti Prasad, who is still in prison.
This evening, two of the three mediators were flown to Malkangiri in a helicopter to talk to the Naxals. At 5 pm, they announced that Mr Krishna would not be released till Friday.
And then in a surprise but welcome twist, Mr Krishna was released.
It's not yet clear what persuaded the Naxals to set him free. Sources say that Ganti Prasad's instructions to stick to the original compromise may have weighed heavily on those operating in the forests. But it's also likely that Mr Krishna's over-whelming popularity in Malkangiri came to his rescue. Villagers in the area shared their respect and regard for him with newspapers and television channels.