Maoist rebels in eastern India have said a "people's court" will decide whether to release a lawmaker they abducted a month ago, news reports said Friday. Jhina Hikaka, 37, who was captured on March 24, would face the rebels' court by Wednesday, the rebels were quoted as saying by NDTV news channel.
They originally demanded the release of 29 tribal sympathisers and rebels currently in jail in exchange for Hikaka, who belongs to Orissa's ruling Biju Janata Dal party. The state government was preparing to release 25 of the prisoners, but negotiations were put on hold when a retired army officer on Wednesday petitioned the country's Supreme Court to block the move.
The court on Thursday gave the federal and Orissa governments two weeks to respond to the petition. "When the government is taking so much time to take decisions, we will also take our own time to convene the praja [people's] court," a spokesman for the rebels said in the audio message quoted by NDTV.
Hikaka is a popular member of one of the state's tribal communities, which provide the support base for the Maoist rebels. A district official taken hostage by the rebels last year was released after a "people's court" hearing. The Maoists are active in the eastern states and have been described as the country's biggest internal security threat. The rebels say they are fighting for the rights of tribal, landless and poor people. Two Italian men abducted by another group of Maoists in Orissa days before Hikaka's capture were freed after authorities agreed to release five jailed rebels.
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