Sukma: Abducted Sukma collector and IAS officer Alex Paul Menon will be released on May 3, the Maoists told BBC on Tuesday. The Maoists said Menon will be released in front of the public in Tadhmetha. Menon has been in the custody of the Maoists for the past ten days.
Reacting to the reports N Brajendra Kumar, Principal Secretary at the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister's Office, said, "We are happy to receive this information. The government has not received any information from the Maoists. This information has generally come through the media. We expect the collector to be released as suggested by this news. All the negotiations with the Maoists have already been done."
This comes a day after the Chhattisgarh government officials had suggested that Menon may be released on May 2. "I hope Alex Paul Menon will be released within 48 hours," Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh had said after the two-page agreement was initialled by the mediators in the presence of Principal Secretary (Home) NK Aswal.
Sources say that as per the agreement, no jailed Naxal cadres will be released but the government will constitute a high-powered committee to review cases of some prisoners in jail including the cases demanded by the Naxals.
The Committee, which will have Chief Secretary and state DGP as members, shall become operational "within an hour" of the release of Menon, according to the agreement.
The agreement, which was quickly approved by a Cabinet sub-committee headed by the Chief Minister, said the matter which is of utmost concern to the mediators is the well-being of Menon. Chief Minister Singh said negotiations can continue even after the Collector is released.
(With additional information from PTI)
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