Hostage crises: Govt's weak strategy exposed?
After a month in Maoist captivity, BJD MLA Jhina Hikaka is likely to be freed tomorrow, but on terms most humiliating to the Odisha government. The Maoists say Hikaka has assured the praja or people's court that he will quit as an MLA and snap all ties with his party. A few hundred kilometres away, in neighbouring Chhattisgarh, IAS officer Alex Paul Menon waits for his freedom. His captors have extended the deadline for their demands but the officer, an asthma patient, poses a health worry. As the condition of Sukma District Collector worsens, we debate: Are Maoists now making mockery of the Govt?
