Kandhamal, Odisha:
In a crisis for the Naveen Patnaik government, two Italian citizens were taken hostage by Maoists at an undisclosed location in Odisha's Kandhamal district on Saturday. One of the two abducted men, Boscusco Paolo, has been visiting Odisha since 1999 and runs a travel agency in Puri that takes foreign tourists on tribal tours. The other, Clandio Colangilo, is a tourist. The two were kidnapped from the Kandhmal-Ganjam border in Odisha.
The Maoists say the duo were taking objectionable pictures of tribal women. Late Saturday night, the Maoists sent an audio message to NDTV claiming responsibility. (
Listen to the Maoists' audio message here)
"We have arrested two Italian tourists who like hundreds of foreign tourists ... treat the local people as monkeys and objects of ridicule. This is against humanity and we want the people at large to rise against this," the Maoists said in the audio message.
A Maoist source on Sunday called up to say that the Maoists will not appoint mediators this time because in a previous abduction case in Malkangiri where collector Vineel Krishna was kidnapped, the state government did not honour its promises. The Maoists say that the state must prove their credibility by ordering an immediate halt to combing operations and by releasing three people from jail - Gananath Patra, Sabyasachi's wife Subhashree Panda and Ashutosh Soren.
The Maoists also want the state government to act on the 13-point charter of demands, which inclde the long-standing demands like the release of political prisoners and the halt to Operation Greenhunt.
The state government, which had managed to get the Malkangiri collector Vineel Krishna released ony after a few days of high drama last year in February, has gone into a huddle.
Condemning the incident, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said, "The state government is ready to hold dialogue with Maoists within the ambit of law." He also made an appeal for their release.
Sources in the Union Home Ministry said they have only received a preliminary report and that the state has not yet asked for any help. This is being viewed as a localised incident, sources added.
The Ministry of External Affairs has said that they are in close touch with the Italian Embassy and are keeping Italy updated regularly about developments on the incident. Meanwhile, the Italian Consul General Joel Melchiori, has reached Bhubaneswar.
"We are working together with them and the local police for finding a solution as soon as possible," said Mr Melchiori.
Even though this incident does not impinge on the diplomatic relationship, it may be of great importance, since India is already in the middle of a diplomatic row with Italy. Two Italian marines are in the custody for killing two Indian fishermen. The incident is being played in a big way by the Italian media, saying first the marines and now tourists being stuck in India.