Kathmandu: Maoists have freed an official who was taken hostage after an attack in a southern Nepal town during political upheaval in the Himalayan country last month, officials said on Friday.
The rebels freed District Administrator Bhodraj Adhikari on late Thursday. He safely reached a government outpost on early Friday, said senior Home Ministry official Biswa Prakash Pandit.
The release came hours after Home Minister Krishna Sitaula pleaded with the rebels to free him, in order to help create a conducive environment for proposed government-rebel peace talks meant to end decade-long fighting.
Adhikari and 19 police officers were captured after an April 5 rebel attack on government buildings and security bases in Malangawa, about 120 kilometers (75 miles) south of the capital, Katmandu.
The police were freed 10 days later, but Adhikari was kept captive.
A new government took charge of Nepal late last month after weeks of sometimes violent street protests forced King Gyanendra to relinquish the absolute power he seized on February 1, 2005, when he claimed the move was necessary to combat corruption and end a decade-long communist rebellion.
The new government on Thursday freed Matrika Yadav, the highest-ranking imprisoned Maoist leader, and midlevel rebel Suresh Ale. Both had been arrested in India, extradited to Nepal and jailed for two years on terrorism charges.
The rebels freed five policemen they had abducted on Tuesday night as the officers patrolled a highway near Bhumahi, about 250 kilometers (160 miles) southwest of the capital, Katmandu on Thursday.
The Maoists, who have fought government forces since 1996, are no longer outlawed and the new government of Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala is trying to disarm them and get them to join the political mainstream.
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