Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren on Monday appealed to the Maoists to free the abducted Block Development Officer Prashan Kumar Layek and offered to open dialogue with them.
“I appeal to the naxalites to free the official, so that the officials can work for the state’s development in a fear-free environment. Abduction of innocent officer is not a solution to any problem,” Mr. Soren said in a signed statement circulated to the media.
Assuring that the government would take corrective measures if there was any violation of “human values” at any level, Mr. Soren said in the statement that when he took over as Chief Minister he had appealed to the Maoists to join the mainstream.
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“Now also we are ready for the talks,” he said in the statement.
Mr. Soren had assured the wife of the BDO on Sunday that the government was making efforts for her husband’s safe return.
Meanwhile, police are continuing searches to locate the BDO, who was kidnapped on Saturday from Dalbhumgarh in East Singhbhum district by four armed naxalites.
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