Bhubaneswar/New Delhi: In the first instance of Maoists targeting foreigners, two Italian tourists were abducted in the forests bordering Orissa’s Kandhamal-Ganjam districts. The kidnapping came to light late on Saturday night after the Maoists released two men abducted along with the Italians, Bosusco Paolo and Claudio Colangelo.
The Maoists claim the four were kidnapped on March 14. This came to light only after the release of Sontosh Moharana and Kartik Parida with audio tapes of the Maoist leader, Sabyasachi Panda, along with a list of their demands, the main one being immediate cessation of anti-Maoist operations. The Centre asked its forces to stop anti-Maoist operations on Sunday, in consultation with the state government which has initiated back-channel efforts to get the tourists released. Indian officials also informed Italian embassy about the incident which comes at a time when ties between the two countries have come under stress over the killing of two Indian fishermen by Italian marines off the Kerala coast over a month ago.
REDS TARGET FOREIGNERS FOR FIRST TIME
Paul Bosusco, 54, (in pic) and Claudio Colangelo, 61, were on a trekking trip when they were abducted from the Kandhamal-Ganjam border on Mar 14 — the first time Maoists have targeted foreigners
Bosusco has been in Puri for 20 years,
works with an adventure tourism company
Maoists say Italians were snapping objectionable photographs of tribals, set Sunday deadline for meeting 13 demands
These include immediate halt to anti-Naxal operations, release of jailed Maoists, withdrawal of cases against 672 tribals and ban on photographing tribals
Sunday deadline passes, CM offers talks. Centre stops anti-Naxal operations in region.
The Maoists claim the four were kidnapped on March 14. This came to light only after the release of Sontosh Moharana and Kartik Parida with audio tapes of the Maoist leader, Sabyasachi Panda, along with a list of their demands, the main one being immediate cessation of anti-Maoist operations. The Centre asked its forces to stop anti-Maoist operations on Sunday, in consultation with the state government which has initiated back-channel efforts to get the tourists released. Indian officials also informed Italian embassy about the incident which comes at a time when ties between the two countries have come under stress over the killing of two Indian fishermen by Italian marines off the Kerala coast over a month ago.
REDS TARGET FOREIGNERS FOR FIRST TIME
Paul Bosusco, 54, (in pic) and Claudio Colangelo, 61, were on a trekking trip when they were abducted from the Kandhamal-Ganjam border on Mar 14 — the first time Maoists have targeted foreigners
Bosusco has been in Puri for 20 years,
works with an adventure tourism company
Maoists say Italians were snapping objectionable photographs of tribals, set Sunday deadline for meeting 13 demands
These include immediate halt to anti-Naxal operations, release of jailed Maoists, withdrawal of cases against 672 tribals and ban on photographing tribals
Sunday deadline passes, CM offers talks. Centre stops anti-Naxal operations in region.
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