Two Maoist mediators on Friday virtually contested chief minister Raman Singh’s denial of any swap deal with Naxals to secure Sukma district collector Alex Paul Meon’s release from Maoist custody, saying that “there was an understanding to release 3 Maoists” in exchange of the IAS officer’s freedom.
“There was an understanding between the government and we that at least three out of eight Maoist leaders, figured in the first list of Maoist demands, must be released before the collector walked free. The Naxals, who held Mr Menon hostage, wanted withdrawal of all cases against these three particular Maoists,” Maoist mediators Prof. Hargopal and B.D. Sharma told reporters here, apparently to put the record straight.
Mr Sharma said the Naxals first wanted release of eight Maoist leaders in exchange of Mr Menon. Later, they scaled down their demand and produced a list of three Naxals seeking their release before the collector was set free. Later, the Naxals gave a list containing names of 347 Naxal prisoners demanding their trials in fast-track courts to “facilitate” their release.
Disclosing the unwritten minutes of their three-day-long negotiations with their official counterparts — retired bureaucrats Nirmala Buch and S.K. Mishra — that led to the bureaucrat’s release on Thursday evening, Mr Sharma said the state government agreed to refer all the cases to high-powered committee set up to hasten the process to get them released from judicial custody.
Highly-placed official sources said the Naxals insisted on release of three Maoist leaders — Shanti Priya Reddy, alias Malati, wife of Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee spokesman Gudsa Usendi, alias K. Ramachandra, Meenati Choudhury and Debapal Chandrasekhar Reddy — all hailed from Andhra Pradesh, to set Mr Menon free.
The ultras also delayed the collector’s release by a few hours on Thursday, when there was no sign of government taking any steps to facilitate release of the two women Naxals. The rebels gave the green signal to release the collector only after the bail application of Meena was moved in the Raipur court.