Maoist interlocutors G Haragopal, Varavara Rao and Dandapani Mohanty come out from Bhubaneswar special jail after meeting arrested Maoist supporters. Picture by Sanjib Mukherjee

Bhubaneswar, May 25: Three Maoist sympathisers, who had met chief minister Naveen Patnaik yesterday, visited the jail here today to meet some leading rebel leaders and reiterated demand for their early release.

Maoist sympathisers — Prof. G. Hargopal, Ververa Rao and Dandapani Mohanty — today met Subhashree Panda alias Mili (wife of Orissa’s top Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda), rebel leader Ashutosh Soren and Chasi Mulia Adivasi Sangh leader Gananath Patra.

While the Maoist sympathisers sought early release of Patra, they demanded expediting trial against Mili Panda.

During the meeting with the chief minister yesterday, the Maoist sympathisers had asked the Orissa government to swiftly initiate steps for release of Ghanti Prasad, Gananath Patra and others languishing in jails across Orissa.

They had also set a deadline for the Orissa government to withdraw nine cases involving 168 tribals by the end of June.

“If the government does not fulfil its commitment by the deadline, the tribals will be forced to take their own path,” said Ververa Rao, revolutionary poet from neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, who had played a key role in the release of abducted Malkangiri collector R.V. Krishna.

Hargopal, one of the three interlocutors who had negotiated with the Orissa government on behalf of the Maoists for release of the Malkangiri collector, said the government should honour the agreement made three months ago.

“If the government does not behave with a sense of responsibility, its credibility suffers and people will lose confidence in peaceful resolution of the problems. The avenues for mediation will be choked and the democratic processes will get stifled,” said he.

Hargopal recalled that the Orissa government had committed in February last to ensure release of Ghanti Prasad and four others within a week, release of tribals and Chasi Mulia Adivasi Sangh workers imprisoned in Narayanpatna within a fortnight and all tribals within three weeks. “We feel upset and anguished that the government has failed to fulfil these commitment even after three months,” he said.

Chief secretary Bijay Patnaik said: “The government has identified the cases pending against tribals, in which lenient attitude can be adopted and such cases can be withdrawn.”

On the release of Ghanti Prasad, the chief secretary said the case involved complicated judicial process which was taking time.

In a related development, explosives in 40 packets weighing around 2.5 quintal were recovered from Narayanpatna forests, considered as a hotbed of Maoist activities. “Maoists might have stocked these explosives to launch a major operation,” said Atanu Ray, inspector in-charge of Narayanpatna police station.