Phidim, April 13:

Chairman Bam Bahadur Yongya and vice-chairman Rana Bahadur Khadka of Paanchthar District Development Committee, who are in the captivity of Maoists, today sent a letter to the local administration urging it to release two Maoist detainees to secure their own release.

The two, who were abducted from Dhappatar on April 3, wrote that the Maoists had promised to release them if vice-chairman Laxmi Mudari and member Birata of the All-Nepal Women’s Association-Revolutionary (ANWA-R) were set free. The two said that they were taken before the Maoists’ district committee two days after their abduction, adding that though the Maoists treated them well they did not disclose where they have been kept.

The ANWA-R had issued a press statement saying Yongya and Khadka would not be released until Mudwari and Birata were set free. Yongya and Khadka both have health problems. They have urged journalists and human right activists to make efforts for their release.