Mediators leave to bring back abducted IAS official Alex Paul Menon

Two mediators today left for the Tadmetla region of Chhattisgarh to bring back abducted district collector Alex Paul Menon, who is expected to be released by noon today by his Maoist abductors. Prof G Hargopal and BD Sharma, the Maoists’ representatives at the talks, left from Raipur early this morning and are expected to ensure the release of the abducted official by midday. Menon, who was abducted by Maoists on 21 April, is expected to be released today, after the Chhattisgarh government ironed out an agreement with the Naxalites on Monday. [caption id=“attachment_296185” align=“alignright” width=“380” caption=“Alex Paul Menon is likely to be freed today. PTI”]  [/caption]The Maoist kidnappers had issued a statement on Tuesday saying they would hand over Menon to their representatives at Tadmetla, a remote forested area in Sukma district which is under Maoists control, at noon on Thursday. Menon was the district collector for the district of Sukma and had attended an official function when he was abducted. “We are ready to hand over Menon on May 3 in front of people of Tadmetla,” a statement issued by the Maoists to the BBC had said. Under the terms of the agreement, the State government had agreed to set up a committee headed by Nirmala Buch (one of the two government mediators at the talks) to review the cases of all the prisoners in Chhattisgarh jails, including those whose release the Maoists had initially demanded as in exchange for Menon’s release. Last week, the Maoists had sent out an e-mail to media representatives to explain why they had kidnapped Menon. The Sukma Collector, the e-mail claimed, was involved in “anti-Maoist activities” and so became a legitimate target.