NEW DELHI: A senior leader of India’s Maoist insurgents has offered a ceasefire ahead of possible peace talks with the government, the BBC reported on Monday.

Kishenji, a leader believed to be in the eastern state of West Bengal, offered a 72-day truce, apparently without conditions, across central and western India from Thursday until May 7. “First let us have a ceasefire and stop killing each other. Then we will see whether we can talk meaningfully,” the BBC quoted him as saying on its website. Indian Home Minister P Chidambaram has been pushing for talks with the rebels.