Members of Indian parliament and civil society have called upon the Indian government to release Nepali Maoist leaders and cadres currently held in various Indian prisons.

Senior Maoist leader Mohan Baidya alias Kiran

Senior Maoist leader Mohan Baidya alias Kiran (File Photo)
‘We feel concerned that even after two months of the victory of Nepal’s seven-party alliance and Maoists over the feudal monarchy, about 50 Nepalis branded as Maoist are still languishing in Indian jails,” a statement issued by a group of 16 people said on Thursday.

The statement, forwarded to various media organisations by CPN (M) media, further said, “These people have not committed any offence against India or the people of India. They have not harmed Indian interests, violated any Indian law or committed any crime on Indian soil. Many of them might have come to India for treatment of illness, which many citizens of Nepal normally do.”

The signatories include Indian MPs Nirmala Deshpande, Sadhakar Reddy, Abdul Rashid Shaheen and Aziz Pasha. Other signatories include former MP and well-known columnist Kuldip Nayar, former chief justice of Delhi High Court Rajendra Sachar and former chief of the Indian Navy Admiral L. Ramdas.

According to CPN (Maoist), nearly 150 of their comrades are in various Indian prisons including two senior leaders, CP Gajurel and Mohan Baidya. Gajurel was arrested and is being held in Chennai on charge of trying to board a flight to Brussels on a fake passport. Baidya was arrested while undergoing surgery of his eyes in Siliguri.

Indian leaders have called upon their government to release Nepali Maoists at a time when the Nepal government and Maoist rebels have observed ceasefire and are engaged in a peace process.

During his recent visit to India, premier GP Koirala said that he had taken up the issue of detained Nepali Maoists in various Indian jails.

The CPN (Maoist) is organising a grand function at Godabari, Lalitpur on Sunday to felicitate its cadres who were freed recently as per the decision of the Seven Party Alliance government to create conducive environment for peace negotiations.

Critics, however, say the government lost its only leverage against the rebels by freeing nearly 1,400 Maoist leaders and cadres from various jails within the country. They say the release of the rebels should have been linked to the progress in the peace talks.