Rao demands announcement of release of 7 persons

Bhubaneswar: Shortly after Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik`s appeal to Maoists to extend deadline for fulfilment of demands for release of abducted Malkangiri District Collector and an engineer, Naxal ideologue V V Rao today demanded announcement of release of at least seven persons jailed in stray cases.

"I have asked the state government to make an announcement for release of at least seven persons who have been jailed in unreasonable and stray cases by 6 p.m. this evening," Rao told PTI over phone.

The government need not immediately release the seven but an announcement should be made by 6 p.m, he said.

This would facilitate both extension of the deadline as well as release of Malkangiri District Collector R V Krishna and junior engineer Pabitra Majhi, he added.

Rao said he has conveyed the suggestion to the state government during a telephonic conversation with Orissa Industries Secretary T Ramachandru on the issue.

The naxal ideologue said he had also named the seven persons - Sriramulu Srinivasulu, Ghantiprasad, Padma (wife of Maoist leader Ramakrishna) and four others.