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The Chhattisgarh Government has intensified efforts to free Sukma District Collector Alex Paul Menon from Maoists captivity. In this connection, the first round of talks between the state government and Maoists mediators-- Nirmala Buch, S.K.Mishra Dr. B.D. Sharma and Professor Hargopal was held here yesterday. Both sides described the over three-hour long talks as positive. Legal experts also assisted in the deliberations, officials said. Before the meeting, a special emissary who had handed over medicines to the 32-year-old IAS officer, an asthma patient, described his condition as stable. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Raman Singh said the abductors demands would be considered only within the legal framework. The Naxals have demanded the release of eight colleagues: Markam Gopanna alias Satyam Reddy, Nirmal Akka alias Vijay Laxmi, Devpal Chandrashekhar Reddy, Shantipriya Reddy, Meena Choudhari, Korsa Sunny, Markam Sunny and Asit Kumar Sen. The ultras also want anti-Naxal Operation Green Hunt to be cancelled, security forces to be withdrawn from the region and persons against whom they allege "fake cases" have been registered, released from the jails. In an audacious operation, Maoist rebels on Saturday abducted Menon, an IAS officer of 2006 batch, from the middle of a meeting with villagers from Majhipara village in Keralapal area of the Naxal-infected district. Menon is the first collector of the newly-created Sukma District and was known to be pro-active in undertaking development work in the backward region.

Chhattisgarh Government intensifies efforts to free abducted Sukma Collector