By IANS
Raipur : Maoist militants Tuesday set free 10 people, including some police officers, who had been abducted early Monday from three villages of Chhattisgarh’s insurgency hit Bastar district, police said.
“All the 10 hostages, including some special police officers (SPOs), who were picked up by armed Maoists from forested areas under Bade Dongar police station, were released unharmed in the wee hours of Tuesday,” police officials said.
Sources added that the Maoists released the hostages after a group of villagers from the Bade Dongar area, about 230 km south of capital Raipur, approached the guerrillas Monday night and requested for the safe release of their fellow villagers.
The release of hostages has brought major relief to an administration that is still to recover from the loss of 24 policemen in a fierce gun battle last week with Maoist rebels in Bastar region’s Dantewada district.
Police estimate that about 5,000 Maoists armed with AK-47 rifles and landmines are active in the hills and forests of southern Chhattisgarh.