Bhubaneswar/Malkangiri, Mar 29: Superintendent of Police, Sukma, Abhishek Meena on Tuesday informed that the police have been able to trace the activities of the Canadian national named John and is said to be safe. He had reportedly gone missing in the Sukma forest close to the inter-state border of Odisha and Chhattisgarh at Kistaram village in Sukma in Chhattisgarh. The cops have informed that he is present in an interior area of the Sukma district. The Adivasis there had detained John due to a communication problem on both sides. As the area is infested by Maoists, it was earlier suspected that he has been abducted by the red rebels.
The Sukma SP assured to the media that as it is an unknown place for John, some villagers stopped him and inquired about his identity. He is safe and sound. Local traders have been sent to assure the tribal there that this particular man has no connection with the police or any Central agencies and that he is a common citizen of a foreign country and so he should be freed.
Notably, John had entered a village while riding a bicycle on which he had begun his journey from Mumbai from Mar 15.
