Lucknow: Union home minister Rajnath Singh said on Saturday that efforts were on to rescue the villagers who had been taken hostage by Naxals ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Chhattisgarh. Mr Singh said that the Centre was making efforts for release of the hostages and was working in coordination with the state government.
The Union minister said that Naxalism and terrorism were ‘old problems’ and the governments were making all possible efforts to resolve them. Contradictory reports are being made over the ‘hostage’ situation in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh, where Maoists are said to have taken 400-500 villagers hostage. ASP Sukma, Harish Rathore said anywhere between 400 and 500 villagers were ‘taken away’ by the rebels.
