Naveen condemns abduction of Italian tourists, seeks their immediate release

Naveen condemns abduction of Italian tourists, seeks their immediate release

Sidharth Shankar Mishra , BUREAU CHIEF, THESE DAYS
Bhubaneshwar/Kandhamal, March 18

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday condemned the abduction of two Italian tourists in the forests bordering Kandhamal and Ganjam districts and sought their immediate release on humanitarian grounds. The tourists were abducted on Saturday evening.


The Chief Minister convened an emergency meeting with state Chief Secretary BK Patnaik, Home Secretary UN Behera and Director General of Police MM Praharaj and said he was willing to hold talks for the release of the tourists.


"I appeal to the extremists to release them immediately on humanitarian grounds. I condemn the heinous crime,” the Chief Minister said, addressing the press.


PRO in the Chief Minister Office, S K, Panda, when contacted, said the abductors had set Sunday evening as deadline for the government to initiate a dialogue process.


The abductors have released an audio tape in which they reportedly set Sunday evening as the deadline for the government to start negotiations over their demands for the release of the tourists, whom they identified as Bosusco Paolo and Claudio Colangelo.

Media sources said the audio tape claims the tourists were taking objectionable photographs of tribal people in Kandhamal.