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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Guerrillas Let Hutchings Talk Over Radio With Indian Officials

From Staff And Wire Reports

Spokane psychologist Donald Hutchings reportedly spoke to Indian authorities on Monday for the first time since he was kidnapped almost two months ago by Kashmiri guerrillas.

He said that he and three other Western hostages are doing well.

The conversation apparently was prompted by the government’s demand that the kidnappers prove the hostages were well before negotiations began.

“We are safe,” government spokesman Kulbhushan Jandiyal quoted the hostage as saying. He refused to reveal the captive’s name or discuss other comments.

But sources speaking on condition of anonymity told The Associated Press that the caller was Hutchings, 42, and that he spoke on two-way radio.

“If that’s the truth, I’m really pleased to hear they’re doing well,” said Emily Gordon, a member of the Spokane Mountaineers Club, to which both Hutchings and his wife, Jane Schelly, belong.

Besides Hutchings, two Britons and a German are also held hostage.

Hutchings and Schelly were on a five-week trip to Asia when they were kidnapped July 4. She was released the next day and has remained in India.

It’s been almost two months of waiting for the couple’s friends.

“I’m just worn down by the length of this,” Gordon said. “I’m sure everyone who knows him is worn down.”

Dozens of Muslim militant groups have been fighting for Kashmir’s independence from India. About 12,000 people have died in the fighting in the last five years.

Kashmir is the only majority Muslim state in predominantly Hindu India.

One of the hostages, American John Childs, escaped four days after he was abducted. Another, Hans Christian Ostro of Norway, was decapitated.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo