The underground Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) has announced that it would release all abducted policemen and others from their captivity.

The strongman of Maoist party Comrade Prachanda (Puspa Kamal Dahal) issued a statement Friday saying that his party would release all from their “custody” keeping in mind the demand and desire of the people.

The Maoist leader, however, denied that former lawmaker Dev Raj Joshi was in Maoist captivity. Some people including Joshi had already been released, he said in the statement.

This move of the Maoists came following the government’s demand to release all abducted people including policemen, political workers and civilians in response to government’s decision to release all Maoist workers from jails and police custody.

The government claims that more than 150 people are in Maoist captivity. In the second round of peace talks between the government and Maoist representatives, both sides had agreed to release all who were detained in connection with the insurgency.

Maoist representatives had put forth their demands including release of their workers from custody and jails. The Maoist leader, however, has not disclosed the number of people in their captivity.

In an unconfirmed report,  81 Nepalese including maoist leader Prachanda and others have been arrested by the Indian police in Silguri. This has yet to be confirmed.