Officer will be paraded before media: Maoists

Maoist leader Kishenji on Wednesday said Atindranath Dutta, the police officer whom they abducted in West Midnapore district, will be produced before the media soon but will be released only after the women arrested by the security forces are freed.

"I first want to know the government's reaction to our demand. He cannot be released now, we want the women released in exchange," Koteswar Rao alias Kishenji told a Bengali news channel.

He, however, said that Dutta, the officer-in-charge of Sankrail police station, is keeping is well and will be produced before the media.

"We will produce him before the media.....We are not going to threaten his life or any such thing," he said.

"He is well and healthy. He is with us. We treat him with respect," Kishenji said.

The Maoist leader also said that a member of the abducted officer's family will be allowed to meet him and can also stay with him.

He also alleged that the women, arrested by the joint forces, were picked up from Lalgarh and other areas and had been falsely implicated. He demanded that they be released "unconditionally".

The armed rebels, who barged into the Sankrail police station yesterday, killed second officer Dibakar Bhattacharya and kidnapped ASI Swapan Roy, who was later found dead, and officer-in-charge Dutta.