Indian Maoist Rebels Free Italian Tour Guide

Posted April 12th, 2012 at 8:05 am (UTC-5)
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Indian Maoist rebels have released an Italian tour guide who was abducted a month ago in the eastern state of Orissa.

Paolo Basusco told reporters in the state capital, Bhubaneshwar, Thursday that he was feeling strong and healthy and that he loves Orissa.

Rebels kidnapped Bosusco and another Italian, Claudio Colangelo, on March 14 while they trekked through the state. Colangelo was released 11 days later. The Maoists kept Bosusco captive, demanding the release of rebels held in police custody.

Indian authorities have freed a Maoist leader's wife and agreed to release four other prisoners.

There is still no word on the fate of a state lawmaker who was abducted in a different part of Orissa on March 24.

India's prime minister has called the 40-year Maoist insurgency the country's biggest internal security threat.

The rebels have infiltrated more than 20 Indian states, saying they are fighting for jobs and land for the poor.

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