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Jamshedpur, March 9 (Source - The Telegraph): Dalbhumgarh BDO Prashant Layek is yet to recover from the trauma of his abduction by Maoist rebels and is reluctant to resume work in the red-zone of Ghatshila.
The fear runs so deep that even three weeks after his release, Layek was unable to muster courage to join work today. He also avoided meeting his colleagues.
“I went to Dalbhumgarh, but could not work. I could feel the presence of some unseen danger,” said the BDO over phone, before leaving for his hometown Dumka.
“Dar ka vatavaran ab bhi hai, mujhe nahin lagta ki main wahan kaam kar paunga (The atmosphere of fear is still there. I don’t think I will be able to work there),” said the 36-year-old official.
Layek said he was in no position to say when he would join work, admitting he was afraid even though the administration had provided security for all officials posted at Dalbhumgarh.
The BDO has not asked for a bodyguard. “Hamne bodyguards lene ke liye kadam uthaya nahin. Jab aunga, tab dekha jayega (I have not asked for guards. I will think about it when I rejoin work),” he said.
Layek was abducted at gunpoint on February 13 from his office at Dalbhumgarh, following which the rebels put forward a series of demands for his release.
Among the main demands was the release of 14 suspected Naxalites from Ghatshila sub-divisional jail. It was only after the government initiated measures to reopen cases against them that Layek was set free on February 19 in Ghurabandha.
After returning to his Ghatshila home, Layek left for Dumka with his family the next day. On the way, he stopped over at Jamshedpur to meet East Singhbhum deputy commissioner Ravindra Kumar Agarwal, and sought permission to proceed on leave.
Since yesterday, the administration put in place adequate security arrangements in the block and circle offices across Ghatshila sub-division, a Naxalite hotbed.
Paramilitary jawans and Jharkhand Jaguar personnel have not only been deployed on the block office premises in Ghatshila, Dalbhumgarh, Chakulia, Dumaria and Ghurabandha, but are also patrolling other strategic areas.
