The Maoists have said there is no question of laying down arms. In a bizarre photo op with the media, just before releasing Bengal policeman Atindranath Dutta on Thursday, Maoist leader Kishanji rejected the Centre's conditions for talks, saying surrendering arms cannot be a precondition for talks. And that the government must first pull out its forces from all Naxal states.
Asked in what situation the Maoists would sit for talks, Kishanji said: "The first and foremost condition is that they must withdraw all forces from our area."
And not just the Lalgarh area, he elaborated, but the "entire India. Because they declared war and started Operation Greenhunt in entire India. Not in Lalgarh only. There are two-and-a-half lakh forces in our area. More 2000 ordinary people and 500 or 600 of our comrades are behind bars in Bengal, Chhattisgarh and other states. Without their release there is no scope for talks...Their (government's) condition is that Maoists should surrender their arms. Surrendering arms is out of the agenda. We never accepted it as a part of our agenda. So we are not ready for peace talks with the government. In the name of peace talks they declared war.
After releasing the Bengal cop, Kishanji also said that Maoist leaders would discuss the killing of Frances Induwar, the Jharkhand policeman who was abducted and beheaded. "Whether it is an excess or correct we will review in our party forum. It has not yet been discussed in my party forum. Till now it has not been accepted or reviewed at any level. So if there is any acceptance or regret from the party's side, I will let you know," Kishanji said.
The Maoists had released Dutta, the Bengal policeman, on Thursday evening after 54 hours of captivity. Dutta was the officer-in-charge of the Sankrail police station in West Midnapore, which Naxals stormed on Tuesday. Two policemen were killed in the attack and Dutta was blindfolded and abducted.
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Maoists released the officer at a village near Lalgarh after striking a deal with the state government that allows 14 jailed tribal women to walk free. A court in Midnapore granted them bail. They are among a group of 60 women in prison who the Naxals want released.
Dutta returned home a happy and relieved man. He said initially theMaoists were rude to him, but then things changed, and they becamepolite.
But Atindranath Dutta is not very sure whether he wants to go back to his job or not. He wants to discuss this with his family.
Dutta's relieved wife, Indrani, who ran from pillar to post appealing for her husband's release, told NDTV, "We are very happy, we're thankful to the government, media and Kishanji ... finally he kept his word."
Kishanji had said after Dutta's abduction that he would be treated as a prisoner of war, and would not be harmed if the government met some of his demands. In response, the West Bengal government had said that it was open to negotiations. Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had also met Dutta's family in person, and reassured them of help.
But on Thursday morning, security forces surrounded the area where Kishanji and his Naxals were keeping Dutta hostage. Kishanji retaliated by warning that Dutta's safety could no longer be guaranteed. Soon, the security forces were withdrawn. And Dutta was released.