Ahead of Odisha trip, Ramesh wants jailed tribals freed

Bhubaneswar, May 24 (IANS) Accusing the Odisha government of locking up a large number of innocent people in jails, Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has asked Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to ensure their release at the earliest.

The move comes ahead of Ramesh's two-day visit to the state's Maoist-infested Malkangiri and Rayagada districts where he will take a stock of development activities May 27 and 28.

In a letter to Patnaik sent Wednesday, the union minister says he has been visiting some of the Maoist-infested districts in the state and interacting with officials, non-government organisations and common people for implementation of rural development programmes.

"One point that comes out loud and clear is that a large number of adivasis are in jail today, for no reason whatsoever. They should be freed at the earliest," the minister says in his letter, a copy of which is with IANS.

"I know that you are working with the centre to deal with the extraordinary situation that prevails in the Maoist-affected districts. It is in this background that I have been emboldened to write to you to convey this feed-back that I have received," reads the letter.

"Clearly, something must be done urgently to ensure justice to innocent and unfairly jailed adivasis or to those adivasis who are in jail on very flimsy grounds," the letter says.