NEW DELHI, March 18 (IANS): Leftwing rebels abducted two Italians from a forested area in India`s eastern Odisha state, an official said Sunday. The Indian government has informed Italy about the incident and its efforts at trying to get them released.
The incident comes at a time when Italy is trying to push for the release of two Italian marines who are in a Kerala jail for shooting dead two Indian fishermen.
The two Italians abducted in Odisha are Bosusco Paolo, 54, and Claudio Colangelo, 61.
According to an eyewitness, the Italians had gone along with two Indians, Santosh Moharana, and Kartika Parida, both residents of Puri, to the district of Kandhamal March 12 on a four-day trekking trip.
On March 14 morning, about 7-6 people came with guns when they were sitting near a rivulet. The rebels took the four to the forest after tying their hands and covering their eyes with cloth.
The rebels released Kartik and Santosh March 16 but kept the Italians hostage. The Indians managed to come back and narrated the story before police Sunday at Puri.
`Two Italians have been abducted by Maoists. It happened Saturday,` state Home Secretary U.N. Behera told reporters.
The Maoists, in an audio message sent to local media said the tourists were kidnapped at the border of Ganjam and the communally sensitive Kandhamal district.
They demanded that the government stop anti-Maoist combing operations and fulfil their demands.
The abduction has brought to light the issue of unauthorized visits of foreign tourists to tribal areas. The state government last month had imposed restriction on the visit of foreign tourists and researchers to the areas inhabited by tribals.
One of the Italians was living in the coastal beach town of Puri for the past several years and illegally running a tour agency to facilitate the visit of foreigners to the tribal areas, local officials said.
A Maoist calling himself Sabyasachi Panda said in the audio message, `We have imprisoned two Italian tourists.`
The Maoist leader also said they had enough evidence that the tour operators bribed the administration to allow foreigners to visit the interior areas despite a ban.
`We have apprehended two Italian tourists who like hundreds of foreign tourists are encouraged by the government to visit tribal areas, treat the tribals as monkeys, chimpanzees and objects of ridicule,` he stated.
`We appeal people to raise their voice against such inhuman practices,“ the Maoist leader stated.
He said the tourists were were picked after they were found taking photographs of some tribal women near a rivulet.
`If the government wants to see them free, it should halt combing operations. We also want the government to fulfil a charter of 13 demands it had promised last year,` he said.
The demands included halting of anti Maoist operation, scrapping of accords with MNCs for land transfer and projects, compensation for the families of Maoist sympathisers killed in police custody and release of about 600 prisoners.
Meanwhile, India Sunday informed Italy of the efforts being made by the Odisha government for early release of the two Italian nationals as External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna spoke to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik about the evolving situation.
Patnaik informed Krishna of the ongoing efforts being made by his government for an early release of the abducted Italian nationals.
In another development the Italian consul-general in Kolkata Joel Melchiori arrived in the state capital Bhubaneswar and discussed with top officials the situation.
Melchiori told reporters he hoped the government will find a solution and rescue the abducted Italians as early as possible.
A senior police officer from Kandhamal said the Italians were seen a few days ago in Daringibadi police station area of Kandhamal.
`Police had warned them not to venture into the interior areas for security reasons, but they appeared to have defied the instruction,` he said.
Chief Minister Patnaik, who reviewed the situation with top police and administrative officials Sunday, has appealed to the Maoists to release the two Italians and hold a dialogue with the government.
`I appealed to the leftwing extremists to release them immediately on humanitarian grounds,` Patnaik told reporters here. `The government of Odisha is open to negotiations,` he said.
Maoists are active in more than half of the state`s 30 districts and the district of Kandhamal is considered a stronghold.
Syed Akbaruddin, spokesperson of the external affairs ministry, tweeted on the microblogging site: `India informs Italy of efforts being made by Odisha government for release of two kidnapped Italian nationals.`
`MEA is in contact with Italy to facilitate assistance through concerned Indian agencies in case involving 2 Italian tourists kidnapped in Odisha.`
Italy has been trying to push for the release of its two marines who are in a jail in Thiruvananthapuram for the shooting dead of two Indian fishermen,
The Italian marines, Latorre Massimillano and Salvatore Girone, had allegedly shot dead Ajesh Binki (25), and Gelastine (45), from the Italian vessel Enrica Lexie Feb 15 mistaking them to be pirates.