Ejaz Kaiser, Hindustan Times

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Raipur, February 11, 2011

First Published: 22:41 IST(11/2/2011)

Last Updated: 01:55 IST(12/2/2011)

Naxals free five cops after 18 days

Welcoming civil rights activists who acted as negotiators, Maoists released the five abducted policemen in the remote forests of Bastar, south Chhattisgarh, on Friday night.

This ended eighteen days of anxiety.

Activists led by Swami Agnivesh travelled with mediapersons deep into the Abhujmaad jungles on Friday to secure their release from captivity. The Maoists greeted the visiting team at Kariyameta in Narayanpur, about 400 km south of Raipur.

The visitors attended the jan adalat (people's court) organised by the Maoists and attended by more a thousand villagers, who had no complaint against the policemen.

Police officials in Bastar said the jawans were likely to report to the Narayanpur district authorities by late night and they would be medically examined.

The troopers of the Chhattisgarh Armed Forces were kidnapped from a passenger bus on January 25 when they were proceeding on leave in the insurgency-hit Narayanpur district.

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