Biju Janata Dal member of Legislative Assembly Jhina Hikaka was kidnapped as his party did not honour a "secret deal" struck with the Maoist-backed Chasi Mulia Adivasi Sangha during the recent Zilla Parishad elections, opposition Congress Chief Whip Prasad Harichandan alleged on Tuesday.
With the Maoists dropping the name of a hardcore ultra from the list of their 30 jailed associates and extending the deadline, the Odisha government on Monday expressed hope that Biju Janata Dal MLA Jhina Hikaka could be released on April 18.