Khairaput: An Italian couple was rescued from the prohibited Bonda Ghat area under this block in Malkangiri district Saturday.
The district administration went into a tizzy after being tipped-off about the arrival of the Italian couple Indico Sesodi and Frank Sakha.
The couple had gone to the Bonda Ghat area with an employee of the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) Saturday when the locals noticed them and informed the police and the administration. Khairaput tehsildar and Mudulipada police traced the couple and brought them to the police station.
Additional tehsildar Aswini Mohapatra question them about their purpose of visit to the prohibited area. The couple admitted to have come here on a visit but do not have the requisite permission from the district administration or from the home department. The couple was asked to immediately vacate the area for lacking permission, sources in the district administration said.
The state government has imposed a ban on the visit of foreign nationals to the Bonda Ghat which is home to the primitive Bonda tribe and is also a Maoist-infested area. The area has seen an increase in left wing extremism in the recent days with the ultras opposing a road construction work and burning down a JCB earthmover.
The state government had prohibited the entry of foreign nationals to the Maoist-prone areas of the state after two Italian tourists – Paolo Bosusco (who ran an adventure holiday firm in the state) and Claudio Colangelo (a doctor from Rome) were abducted by Maoists March 14, 2012 in Kandhamal district and were kept as hostages. However, the ultras released Colangelo March 25 and later Bosusco April 12.
Following this incident, the state government made a mandatory provision for international tourists to seek administration’s permission before visiting the Maoist-prone areas of the state.
