Shibu Soren appeals to Maoists to release hostages

JMM chief Shibu Soren, who has often been accused of being soft on Maoists, today condemned the killing of a policeman by Naxals in Bihar and appealed to them to release the other three hostages unharmed.

"I strongly condemn the act of Naxals who have abducted four policemen, killing one of them and were threatening to kill the others. I appeal to the Naxals to release the policemen unharmed and hold talks with Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar," the former Jharkhand chief minister said.

There isn't a problem which can't be solved through talks, Soren said.

Meanwhile, RJD chief Lalu Prasad accused the Bihar chief minister of tightening security around his official residence in Patna to keep it out of bounds for relatives of the hostages.

Prasad, who is also former chief minister of the state, alleged that the family members of the kidnapped policemen, who went to meet Nitish Kumar, were forcibly removed from there.

"The wife and children of the kidnapped policemen, who went to meet the chief minister, were removed from there and all the paths (to the chief minister's residence) were sealed. Even a bird cannot enter there. Either somebody has advised the chief minister on this or he himself does not want to meet the victims' family members.... this is not good," Prasad said.

The RJD chief said that there were no restrictions on people meeting him, when he was the chief minister.