Bhubaneswar: Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda on Friday issued a fresh audio tape giving a 96-hour ultimatum to the Odisha government to release all the seven Naxals he had demanded. The Maoist leader has reiterated that he will kill Italian hostage Bosusco Paolo if the state government fails to meet the fresh deadline. The threat from Panda comes even as Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had earlier agreed to fulfil the...
05:11 PM, Apr 06, 2012
New Delhi: The Centre is keenly observing the hostage situation in Odisha and is believed to be against any swap of prisoners with an abducted MLA and an Italian tour guide. The Home Ministry is not involved in any way with the negotiations between the Maoists and the Odisha government as the latter has not sought any help, but it is in regular touch with the state government. Ministry officials...
03:35 PM, Apr 06, 2012
Madurai: A cross-section of hostellers at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras has locked horns with wardens and administrators over restrictions imposed on 'Hostel Night' celebrations. While upset students have dubbed the move 'moral policing', faculty members claim they are only imposing reasonable restrictions. The Hostel Night celebrations are an annual ritual towards the end of academic year when hostellers invite friends to their rooms for an unwinding session that...
09:59 AM, Apr 06, 2012
As early as March 13, General V K Singh reportedly told 'The Week' magazine that there were people who wanted to make stories for nefarious aims. ...
10:12 PM, Apr 05, 2012
Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Wednesday agreed to fulfill the demands of the Maoists and decided to release 27 prisoners in exchange for the safe release of the BJD MLA Jhina Hikaka and the Italian tourist Bosusco Paolo. Odisha Chief Minsiter Naveen Patnaik said, "15 Chasi Mulia Adivasi Sangha (CMAS) members and eight Maoists from Koraput would be released from jail and four Maoists as demanded by Sabyasachi Panda will...
06:23 AM, Apr 05, 2012
Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Wednesday agreed to fulfill the demands of the Maoists and decided to release 15 CMAS activists and eight Maoists to secure the release of abducted Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MLA Jhina Hikaka. In order to secure the release of Italian national, Bosusco Paolo, who has been held hostage by the Maoists, the Chief Minister agreed to release four Maoist sympathizers from jail. The development came...
08:46 PM, Apr 04, 2012
Bhubaneswar: After a day's break, talks resumed between the Odisha Government and Maoist negotiators for release of the Italian captive while the state Assembly unanimously appealed to the kidnappers of BJD MLA Jhina Hikaka to free him. The appeal comes a day before the deadline fixed by the ultras expires. Home Secretary UN Behera led a three-member team of government representatives in the talks with Maoist-named mediators BD Sharma and...
01:48 PM, Apr 04, 2012
Koraput (Odisha): In the wake of two back-to-back abductions in Odisha, a complete ban has been imposed on the entry of foreign nationals and tourists into the Maoist-hit Koraput district. The district administration's ban follows abduction of two Italian tourists and an MLA by the Maoists in the state. District collector Sachin Jadhav has communicated this through a letter sent to all tour operators, official sources said on Tuesday. The...
01:01 PM, Apr 03, 2012
Bhubaneswar: Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda on Monday released a fresh audio tape in Odisha threatening to kill Italian hostage Bosusco Paolo if the state government launches a rescue operation. The Maoist leader said that the Odisha government had not made it clear as to what demands they had agreed to meet. Panda further said, "We have information that the Odisha government is planning to launch a police operation against us."...
07:45 PM, Apr 02, 2012
Bhubaneswar: Odisha government on Monday said it was examining release of some rebels as demanded by Maoists and hoped the Italian hostage crisis would end soon, even as the fate of abducted BJD MLA remained unknown with a rebel-backed outfit yet to respond an invitation to join talks. A day after the two Maoist mediators left giving time for the state government to take a stand on the demands of...
07:36 AM, Apr 02, 2012
After being blamed for not assisting, Home minister P Chidambaram clarified that Odisha government had not asked the Centre for any assistance except for intelligence sharing. ...
10:06 PM, Mar 31, 2012
New Delhi: The Centre on Saturday said that Odisha government was rightly talking to the Maoists for the safe release of an abducted Italian and an MLA and any decision on using force to rescue them has to be taken by the state. Home Minister P Chidambaram said the only course available to Odisha government was to hold negotiations with the extremists for the safe release of the two hostages....
02:54 PM, Mar 31, 2012
Los Angeles: James Cameron will be one of the stars of his next big-screen adventure, a chronicle of the expedition on which he has made record-setting ocean dives. Cameron said he plans a TV special for National Geographic and a 3D theatrical release on the Deepsea Challenger missions, which included his seven-mile descent to the ocean's deepest point in the Mariana Trench in the western Pacific. It was the deepest...
01:28 PM, Mar 29, 2012
Bhubaneswar: It's been five days since BJD MLA Jina Hikaka was abducted in Odisha and there has still been no breakthrough. But sources say he may have been involved in a secret deal with the Naxals in Koraput to wrest control of a Zila Parishad seat. CNN-IBN has access to a letter to the Odisha Chief Minister, signed by a BJD MP and 3 MLAs including Hikaka. It states an...
10:52 AM, Mar 28, 2012
New Delhi: The Andhra Pradesh-Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee of the Maoists on Tuesday claimed responsibility for the abduction of BJD MLA Jhina Hikaka. The Maoist group placed 7 demands before the government. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik told the state Assembly that the government was examining the demands. Meanwhile, Hikaka has demanded that the state fulfill the Maoists' demands and secure his release. He further said that he was okay....
02:36 PM, Mar 27, 2012
Bhubaneswar: The Andhra Pradesh-Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee has claimed responsibility of the abduction of BJD MLA Jhina Hikaka. The Maoist group has sent another letter believed to be written by the MLA to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. In the letter, the MLA said he was okay and that the government must fulfill the demands of Maoists so that he can return safely. The Maoists have made three demands...
08:34 AM, Mar 27, 2012
New Delhi: The condition of the abducted BJD MLA Jhina Hikaka remains unclear as the state government says talks with Maoists for his release are yet to begin. Hikaka was abducted by Naxals on Friday night in Koraput district. Koraput SP confirmed that the BJD MLA was picked up by the Naxals while he was on his way home. Hikaka was travelling with his driver and personal assistant, who were...
06:36 AM, Mar 27, 2012
Bhubaneswar: The ongoing hostage crisis in Odisha has revealed that the Naxal group in the state is a divided house. Rivalry within the ranks is making the task of the Odisha government all the more difficult for negotiating the release of the second Italian hostage and the abducted BJD MLA Jhina Hikaka. One Italain hostage Claudio Colangelo was released on Sunday by the Maoists. The drama which unfolded in Odisha...
06:20 AM, Mar 27, 2012
The Army Chief claimed that he was offered a bribe of Rs 14 crore to clear the purchase of sub-standard vehicles for the forces. ...
10:46 PM, Mar 26, 2012
Parliamentarians demanded action against Team Anna for the derogatory remarks made during Hazare's fast at Janatar Mantar on Sunday. ...
10:33 PM, Mar 26, 2012
