Bosusco, a Puri-based Italian tour operator, had been abducted along with 61-year-old tourist Colangelo from his country on March 14 while trekking in the forests of Daringbadi area in Kandhamal district.
The Italian national was brought to the state capital in the company of mediapersons and Mohanty who, along with B D Sharma, negotiated with three Odisha government representatives for his release.
...
Italian hostage Paolo Bosusco released by Maoists
Image: Italian tourist Claudio Colangelo was also taken hostage by Maoist rebelsPhotographs: Reuters
Saying that he loves Odisha very much, Bosusco told reporters, "I am happy being a free man now. I am tired and need some rest.
"His release came two days after top Maoist leader of Odisha State Organising Committee Sabyasachi Panda's wife Subhashree Panda alias Mili Panda was released from jail following her acquittal by a Gunupur court in an encounter case of 2004.Subhashree was one of the seven persons whose release the Maoists had demanded as one of the conditions to set free the Italian, who had spent the last 19 years in Puri running a travel agency.
The state government had also agreed to release five persons, including Subhashree, in order to secure the freedom of Bosusco unharmed and in good health.
Italian hostage Paolo Bosusco released by Maoists
Photographs: Reuters
His compatriot Colangelo had been released by the Maoists on March 25 as a "goodwill gesture", while Bosusco was not freed by the ultras who wanted their demands to be fulfilled by the Odisha government.Even after signing of the joint statement, Bosusco's release was then delayed apparently due to inability of the Maoist mediators to send the document to Sabyasachi Panda.
article