Bhubaneswar, March 22: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik today rejected the Opposition’s demand for a CBI inquiry into the kidnapping of Malkangiri collector R. Vineel Krishna and junior engineer Pabitra Mohan Majhi. The Maoists kidnapped the officials on February 16 and released them after eight days.
Describing the kidnapping episode as drama staged to divert public attention from the dal scam, the Opposition members said that only a CBI inquiry could bring out the truth. “We have a strong suspicion in this matter. Only a CBI inquiry can reveal the truth,” said Opposition chief whip Prasad Harichandan.
Initiating the debate on an adjournment motion on the issue in the Assembly Prasad said: “There is a suspicion that some money also changed hands to secure the collector’s release. The government should explain why a helicopter was sent to Koraput on the day the collector was released.”
Prasad said the government did not have a firm policy to deal with the Maoists threat. “The government’s action has demoralised the entire police force,” he said.
Congress member Anup Sai said the kidnapping drama was well scripted. He wanted to know why the collector had been allowed to carry on with his job in the district. Congress member Mamata Madhi said those, who had come to mediate on behalf of the Maoists, were related to Krishna. She wondered as to why the Maoists had not demanded release of their Orissa cadres while they insisted on releasing rebels from Andhra Pradesh.
“By conceding the Maoists’ demands, the government played into hands of the rebels,” said BJP associate member Pratap Sarangi.
Replying to the queries of the members, Naveen said: “An FIR has been lodged about kidnapping in the Chitrakonda police station of Malkangiri. The investigation is going on in a transparent manner and there is no need for a CBI inquiry.”
Naveen further said that there was no intelligence report suggesting that the Maoists would kidnap the collector. Stating that the Orissa government did not bow down before the Maoist demands, the chief minister said the issues raised by Maoists, including allotment of pattas to tribals and resettlement of people displaced by various projects, were also the government’s concerns.
