Maoists finally free a fatigued Menon
4 May 2012 4:29 AM GMT
Maoists freed the abducted district collector of Sukma Alex Paul Menon on Thursday evening, ending a 13-day hostage crisis, after mediators brokered a deal with the Chhattisgarh government.
After three hours of uncertainty, a visibly fatigued Menon, 32, emerged from captivity at 6.30 pm, accompanied by Maoist mediators in Tarmetla, a tiny forested hamlet.
His release sparked off celebrations by his family in Sukma town, as well as in Tamil Nadu, where his parents live. The Chhattisgarh and the Central governments also heaved a sigh of relief. His pregnant wife Asha, who is in Sukma, said she was relieved.
In a significant comment, Chief Minister Raman Singh described the release as a ‘first step toward achieving peace with the Maoists in the state’. Singh, who spoke briefly to Menon, said he had asked the IAS officer from Tamil Nadu to rest.
Menon, who was wearing a blue shirt and carried a black bag on his right shoulder, expressed gratitude to the government and his colleagues for his safe release. An asthma patient, he said he was feeling ‘okay’. Badgered by questions from journalists, Menon pleaded that he was tired and would speak the next day.
He is to spend the night at a Central Reserve Police Force camp at Chintalnar, 80 kilometres from the Sukma town.
Would he serve as Sukma district’s collector again? Yes, he answered, ‘if the state government wishes’.
'I'm fine, don't worry,' Menon tells wife
Sukma District Collector Alex Paul Menon, who was released by Maoists Thursday after 12 days of captivity, had to wait one more day to be reunited with his pregnant wife Asha, but spoke to her over phone to say ‘I am fine’ and that she should not worry.
Security agencies decided to arrange Menon's night halt at para-military base camp at Chintalnar because the area is heavily laid with landmines and unsafe for a road journey at night.
‘I am fine, don't worry now, I am well and will join you tomorrow... till then control yourself,’ Menon was heard saying over phone to his wife at the base camp of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) located at Chintalnar, which is considered the door step of Maoists' hideout in Sukma, one of India's worst leftist insurgency-hit districts.
Chintalnar area is roughly 80 km from Sukma town where Asha Menon is staying. The 32-year-old IAS officer would be able to meet his wife only Friday morning.
Meanwhile, Asha told a few electronic mediapersons at the collector's bungalow there: ‘I am relieved, no one can imagine what I am feeling.’
Asked if she supported Menon's statement that he wants to serve in Sukma again, she said: ‘I stand by his thought, people in the district need him.’
The 2006 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer was taken hostage at gun point by Maoists on 21 April from a forested area while he was interacting with tribals at a government function organised as part of the state government's rural drive.
The Maoists had killed his two body guards, Amjad Khan and Kishen Kujur, when they resisted his abduction.
Relief and happiness brimmed over among family members of Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district collector Alex Paul Menon Thursday after his release by Maoists.
Menon’s father A Varadhas said he was immensely happy at the release of his son after 12 days in captivity, but he had not spoken to him yet. ‘He just got released and he will be having his official duties first. We are all really happy,’ Varadhas said.
After three hours of uncertainty, a visibly fatigued Menon, 32, emerged from captivity at 6.30 pm, accompanied by Maoist mediators in Tarmetla, a tiny forested hamlet.
His release sparked off celebrations by his family in Sukma town, as well as in Tamil Nadu, where his parents live. The Chhattisgarh and the Central governments also heaved a sigh of relief. His pregnant wife Asha, who is in Sukma, said she was relieved.
In a significant comment, Chief Minister Raman Singh described the release as a ‘first step toward achieving peace with the Maoists in the state’. Singh, who spoke briefly to Menon, said he had asked the IAS officer from Tamil Nadu to rest.
Menon, who was wearing a blue shirt and carried a black bag on his right shoulder, expressed gratitude to the government and his colleagues for his safe release. An asthma patient, he said he was feeling ‘okay’. Badgered by questions from journalists, Menon pleaded that he was tired and would speak the next day.
He is to spend the night at a Central Reserve Police Force camp at Chintalnar, 80 kilometres from the Sukma town.
Would he serve as Sukma district’s collector again? Yes, he answered, ‘if the state government wishes’.
'I'm fine, don't worry,' Menon tells wife
Sukma District Collector Alex Paul Menon, who was released by Maoists Thursday after 12 days of captivity, had to wait one more day to be reunited with his pregnant wife Asha, but spoke to her over phone to say ‘I am fine’ and that she should not worry.
Security agencies decided to arrange Menon's night halt at para-military base camp at Chintalnar because the area is heavily laid with landmines and unsafe for a road journey at night.
‘I am fine, don't worry now, I am well and will join you tomorrow... till then control yourself,’ Menon was heard saying over phone to his wife at the base camp of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) located at Chintalnar, which is considered the door step of Maoists' hideout in Sukma, one of India's worst leftist insurgency-hit districts.
Chintalnar area is roughly 80 km from Sukma town where Asha Menon is staying. The 32-year-old IAS officer would be able to meet his wife only Friday morning.
Meanwhile, Asha told a few electronic mediapersons at the collector's bungalow there: ‘I am relieved, no one can imagine what I am feeling.’
Asked if she supported Menon's statement that he wants to serve in Sukma again, she said: ‘I stand by his thought, people in the district need him.’
The 2006 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer was taken hostage at gun point by Maoists on 21 April from a forested area while he was interacting with tribals at a government function organised as part of the state government's rural drive.
The Maoists had killed his two body guards, Amjad Khan and Kishen Kujur, when they resisted his abduction.
Relief and happiness brimmed over among family members of Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district collector Alex Paul Menon Thursday after his release by Maoists.
Menon’s father A Varadhas said he was immensely happy at the release of his son after 12 days in captivity, but he had not spoken to him yet. ‘He just got released and he will be having his official duties first. We are all really happy,’ Varadhas said.
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