RAIPUR: Indian authorities appealed to Maoist militants on Tuesday to free four kidnapped policemen as a deadline set by the ultra-leftists for meeting their demands was set to expire.
“I appeal to the Maoists to release the men unharmed,” said Raman Singh, chief minister of central Chhattisgarh state, a hotbed of militant activity.
His appeal came after police said Maoists killed at least three policemen and abducted another four in a clash last Sunday, 525 kilometres south of state capital Raipur.
Posters in a forest area near where the clash took place said the government had until late Tuesday to meet the rebels' demands, which included calling off a massive security offensive codenamed Operation Green Hunt.
The poster also said the militants wanted the release of several locals from tribal groups who had allegedly been wrongfully arrested on suspicion of being Maoists.
The posters made no mention of any specific threat against the policemen if the government failed to meet the militants’ demands.
“We are working at various levels to secure the release of the four police personnel, who were kidnapped by the Maoists,” Chhattisgarh police director general Vishwa Ranjan told AFP in Raipur.
Maoist attacks have increased since the government launched Operation Green Hunt involving tens of thousands of police and paramilitary troops.
The militants have fought for decades against state and central government rule, drawing support from tribal groups and landless farmers left behind by India's rapid economic expansion.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called the Maoists the biggest single threat to India's internal security.
In April, militants massacred 76 policemen in the Chhattisgarh jungle district of Dantewada, a Maoist stronghold, in the deadliest single attack so far on security forces.
No comments:
Post a Comment