The abduction of two Italians by Maoists may be the first kidnapping of foreigners in Odisha, but the strategy and demands are strikingly similar to those carried out by the ultras in the last six years.
In three earlier incidents in southern Odisha the hostages were released unharmed.
A jail superintendent and a policeman were taken hostage at R Udayagiri in Gajapati district on March 24, 2006, after the Maoists looted arms and ammunition from a police station. They were released after 10 days.
On August 9, 2007 a junior engineer Binod Kumar Kissan and a peon were kidnapped from Guduripanka village in Mohana block in Gajapati district while they were on an inspection. They were freed after three days.
This was followed by the abduction of then Collector R Vineel Krishna and a junior engineer Pabitra Mohan Majhi in Malkangiri district in February, 2011 which had drawn maximum media attention.
The IAS officer and the junior engineer were set free after the government negotiated with the help of interlocutors on the 13-point charter of demands by the Maoists.
