Panda rejects Odisha police's offer, rules out surrender

Panda, who is secretary of Odisha State Organising Committee of Communist Party of India-Maoist, said this through an audio tape released to the media.

Panda's clarification came barely a week after his wife Subhashree Das alias Mili Panda asked him to clear his stand on possible surrender before Odisha police.

Subhashree earlier had told media that her husband, against whom about 100 criminal cases including killing of Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Laxamananda Saraswati were pending, would surrender only if the government withdrew charges.

The wife had also said that the Maoist party had failed to win confidence of masses in the state. The speculation on Panda's possible surrender gained ground as new the Director General of police Prakash Mishra had said that he would be happy if Panda surrenders.

Besides, Mishra had also called upon all the Odia cadre of the CPI-Maoist to return to the mainstream as they were not treated properly by the cadre members from other states like Andhra Pradesh and Chhattishgarh.

Panda, himself, in earlier television interviews had also admitted about the differences in CPI-Maoist. Interestingly, in this audio message Panda introduces himself as the secretary of Odisha Maovadi Party and not as a leader of the Odisha state organising committee of the CPI-Maoist.