Abducted Malkangiri Collector R.Vineel Krishna and the junior engineer Pabitra Majhi are safe, according to a top civil rights activist close to Maoists. The activist told The Hindu over phone that the health condition of the abducted duo had not deteriorated.
The abductors were continuously shifting their camp sites under the security cover of top armed Maoists. But no information had been received on whether the duo was still in Malkangiri district of Orissa or had been shifted to adjoining Chhatisgarh or Andhra Pradesh.
But the Maoists were worried that Mr. Krishna was reluctant to eat regularly, while the junior engineer was taking his food.
Meanwhile, the road connecting Malkangiri district with other parts of Orissa was cleared of road blocks on Sunday. The Maoists had cut down trees to block the road connecting Koraput and Malkangiri district at Govindpalli ghat road on Friday. Although this road was opened up there was no passenger traffic between these two districts.
Meanwhile, demonstrations by officials demanding the release of the Collector were held in different parts of the district. Near Chitrakonda, a group of tribals blocked the road urging the release of the duo. But no incidents of naxal violence were reported from any part of south Orissa.
There had been a surge of Maoist violence in south Orissa districts like Malkangiri, Koraput, Kandhamal, Rayagada and Gajapati in the recent past, which culminated in the abduction.
