Palpa, February 4:

Maoists today released 21 of the 29 people, including Investigation Officer of Palpa, Yam Prasad Parajuli, whom they had abducted after attack on Tansen, the district headquarters of Palpa.

Security personnel among those released are ASI Subash Gaire, ASI Sabhav Bahadur GC, Head Constables, Guru Datta Sharma, Kanta Bahadur Rana, Police Constables, Rohit Kumar Jirel, Suraj Raj Yadav, Bijay Shah, Lal Bahadur Gautam, Krishna Thapa, Binod Bahadur Shah, Ganesh Bahadur Thapa, Surya Prakash Giri, Kamal Bahadur Malla, Dharma Bahadur Oli, Lal Bahadur Pariyar, Tara Prasad Oli, Sita Ram Shah, Dharmendra Yadav and Min Bahadur Pun and Army Constable Sushil Kathayat.

Maoist District Secretary Astha and Maoist Public Administrator Netra Prasad Pandey had released the abductees from Tanhu of eastern Palpa in presence of human rights activists and journalists.

After the release, Investigation Officer Parajuli said the Maoists didn’t torture them and treated them fairly well.

The Maoists released the abductees in presence of Central Member of National Human Rights Alliance and INSEC representative Krishna Prasad Basyal, secretary of Palpa chapter of

Federation of Nepalese Journalists Bhagwan Bhandari and journalists Jagadish Bhattarai, Ram Prasad Neupane and Prakash Khanal at around 8:30 am today.

The freed security personnel were brought to Tansen and were made public to security officials, journalists, rights activists and civil society. The released security personnel were then handed over to DSP Chabi Joshi from White Lake Hotel of Tansen.

It was informed that CDO Laxman Kumar Thapa and other security personnel and civil servants who are in Maoist custody are also being treated as Prisoners of War and they will also be released soon.

Meanwhile, a report form Pokhara said, the Informal Sector Service Centre (INSEC) today organised a press conference and claimed that the security personnel were released with initiatives from INSEC.

Speaking at the conference, Western Regional Coordinator of Informal Sector Service Centre, Jeewanta Wagle said the Maoists had informed him that Chief District Officer Thapa and others too will be released within three days.

A team of network of 44 human rights organisations including INSEC, Human Rights Treaty Monitoring Coordination Committee was in Palpa from the past three days to seek unconditional release of the abductees, it was informed in the conference.