Abducted Chhattisgarh district collector's release likely

[1]

The release of abducted Sukma collector Alex Paul Menon seemed likely with the Maoist interlocutors and the Chhattisgarh government-appointed mediators agreeing on Monday night to form a high-powered panel to deal with the Maoists' demands.

Maoist interlocutors, Hyderabad-based professor G. Hargopal and Delhi-based former IAS officer B.D. Sharma and government mediators Nirmala Buch and S.K. Mishra agreed to a draft on Monday night, paving the way for likely release of Menon.

Menon, 32, a 2006 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer is in Maoist captivity since April 21. The official, who belongs to Tamil Nadu, was abducted at gunpoint by rebels from a forested location in Sukma district, some 500 km south from here, while he was interacting with tribals.

The Maoists shot dead his two guards who resisted his abduction.