Bhubaneswar, April 13: The mass hunger strike by inmates of the Malkangiri jail, led by Maoist top gun Srinivas Sriramulu, was called off today following the district administration’s intervention.

Senior officials, including Malkangiri sub-collector and additional district magistrate, held talks with the prisoners this morning assuring to take up their demands, including implementation of the 14-point agreement, between the Orissa government and the Maoist-chosen interlocutors with the higher-ups in Bhubaneswar.

“The inmates called off agitation that began on Monday immediately after the talk. The chief district medical officer was also present in the jail during the negotiations and examined the prisoners’ health,” said jail superintendent Gopinath Choudhary.

Security in the prison, which houses 272 inmates including 31 Maoists, had been enhanced in wake of the strike which had caught the authorities offguard. Alleging that Sriramulu, who has cases against him in both Orissa and Andhra Pradesh, had incited the inmates, Choudhary said most of the prisoners had been persuaded to have beaten rice and biscuits on Tuesday night.

“However, Sriramulu refused to take anything. He accepted food only today,” said the officer, adding that this was not the first time that the Maoist leader had resorted to such pressure tactics. “He had done it last month also. Who knows he may do it again. He seems hell-bent on seeking media publicity one way or the other,” said Choudhary.

The Maoists have been mounting pressure on the government for early action on the 14-point agreement that had paved way for the release of Malkangiri collector R. Vineel Krishna, abducted by a group of rebels on February 16. Krishna, who is currently on leave, was set free after nine days in captivity. The agreement, among other things, sought withdrawal of cases against the tribals sent to jail on fabricated charges, review of the cases against members of the Chasi Muliya Adivasi Sangh (CMAS) and an end to bauxite mining in parts of Koraput district.

The Maoists allege that the government has been deliberately dragging its feet over the agreement while it continues to perpetrate atrocities against the tribals in different parts of Orissa branding them as naxalites on the slightest pretext. The CMAS, which is spearheading an agitation against non-tribal landlords in the Narayanpatna area of Koraput, recently held a demonstration demanding early implementation of the accord.

The Orissa government, on the other hand, claims to have begun the process of implementing the accord. Officials here said that all district administrations have been instructed to compile the list of tribals languishing in their jails so that steps could be taken for their release. “The process has begun, but it is bound to take sometime. The Maoists have to be a little patient with us,” said an official.