'With fear of death, we walked blindfolded for miles'

Recounting the difficult moments they faced while in Maoist captivity for 12 days, the four Chhattisgarh policemen on Friday said they were made to walk blindfolded 'miles through the dense forests' and had no idea what was happening in the outside world.

Assistant Sub-Inspector Sukhram Bhagat and constables B Toppo, Narendra Bhosle and Subhash Patre, abducted on September 19, were released deep inside a forest in Naxal- affected Bijapur district on Thursday night.

According to them, they were blindfolded most of the time and made to walk miles through dense forests on foot.

"We had no idea what was happening in the outside world. We were constantly haunted by the fear of death," one of them said, adding they were, however, not physically harmed.

They said Yogesh was the 'commander' of the Naxals who held them hostage. When some mediapersons came to meet the Naxals 'we thought we would be released but our hopes were belied.'

When family members of the policemen met them at Dantewada police headquarters, their joy knew no bounds. The relatives thanked the media, social activists, Naxals, police and the state government.

A seven-member police team was raided by Naxals when it was on its way to Bhadrakali police station from the base in Bhopalpatnam.

Four were kidnapped while three others were killed by the Maoists.

Expressing happiness at the end of the hostage crisis, DGP Vishwaranjan thanked the local media and that of neighbouring Andhra Pradesh for playing a constructive role in the entire episode.

Asked about the demands put forward by the Naxals, Vishwaranjan said they were general in nature. The Maoists had demanded, among other things, a halt to 'Operation Green Hunt'.

However, the DGP said the anti-Naxal operation was of limited period and it has already come to an end. Social activist and Maoist ideologue Varvara Rao, who played a key role in safe release of the policemen, expressed happiness at the peaceful end of the crisis.

He, however, said that the state government should stop committing 'atrocities' on villagers in the name of tackling Maoists. Chief Minister Raman Singh said his government was open for talks to end the Naxal menace.