Deeg (Rajasthan): Four people including a youth from the hilly area of the district who were held hostage by Naxalites in Odisha on June 20 were released on June 25 after their families paid ransom money to the Maoists.
Faisal, a resident of Mewat, drives a JCB machine in a construction company. He was working with three other colleagues in the jungle when a six-member Naxal gang held them hostage. They then sent Faisal's photos to his family members and demanded Rs 1.5 crore. They also threatened of killing him if information was shared with the police.
Superintendent of Police (SP) Nitesh Wadhwani, Malkangiri district said that the Naxalites finally released the hostages after receiving the ransom money from the company Faisal worked for. "The company paid the money on Tuesday following which the Naxalites released him within three hours," he said.
Deeg SP Rajesh Kumar said that no official information has reached them yet from Odisha. "Apart from contacting other police stations, we are also taking inputs from senior levels," he said. Circle Officer Kaman Dharmaraj Chaudhary said that no formal complaint has been filed by Faisal's family yet. "The Odisha Police, too, has also not contacted us in this matter," he added.
Faisal and his workers were laying a pipeline when they were attacked by the Naxalites. Police sources said that the area where they were held hostage is a stronghold of Naxalites and thus the attack. Faisal's family has been associated with farming for decades. When they were helpless and unsure about the company's decision, they had even decided to sell their land to save Faisal.
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