Bhubaneswar, April 11: For the Maoists, power may flow from barrel of the gun, but when in jail even they prefer using the Gandhian weapon of a hunger strike.

Top Maoist leader Srinivas Sriramulu, today led a mass hunger strike supported by inmates of the Malkangiri jail protesting the delay in the Orissa government honouring commitments made to secure the release of district collector R. Vineel Krishna, who was abducted by a group of rebels on February 16.

Superintendent of Malkangiri jail Gopinath Choudhary confirmed that none of the 272 inmates of the prison, including Sriramulu, who was one of the seven top Maoists whose release had been sought by the abductors of the collector, had taken food.

“He seems to have incited others. I have apprised senior district officials of the development,” said Choudhary adding that apart from the implementation of the 14-point agreement between the government and the Maoist chosen interlocutors — who brought the Malkangiri hostage crisis to an end — the prisoners were also demanding that chargesheets in all cases must be filed within four months of arrest.

Sriramulu, who is yet to get bail in connection with a case of 2005, is the most famous inmate of Malkangiri jail, which houses 31 other Maoists. Sources said documents relating to his case would be sent to the high court soon.

A resident of Andhra Pradesh, Sriramulu, is believed to have written a letter to the Malkangiri district authorities alleging that the government was deliberately dragging its feet over the implementation of the 14-point agreement which included withdrawal of cases against tribals sent to jail on fabricated charges, review of the cases against the members of Chasi Muliya Adivasi Sangh (CMAS) and putting a stop to bauxite mining in parts of Koraput district.

Sources said Sriramulu had alleged that instead of helping the tribals, the government continued to foist false cases against them. Some other Maoist leaders had also levelled similar charges against the administration in the recent past. The CMAS held demonstrations on the issue at Narayanpatna in Koraput district about a month ago.

Official sources, however, claimed that steps were already being taken for the implementation of the 14-point accord and district administrations had been asked to prepare a list of tribals languishing in their jails on minor charges. According to the information available from Koraput, as many as 190 tribals were lodged in different jails of the district with 40 of them being hardcore Maoists.

Officials said that notwithstanding pressure for accelerating the process of implementing the accord, the government had to move cautiously in the matter as each case had to be reviewed before taking a decision. “Nothing can be done in a hurry,” said sources.