New Delhi, May 4 (IANS) Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh Friday denied any secret agreement with Maoists in exchange for Sukma District Collector Alex Paul Menon and said that a panel has been constituted to look into the demands of the guerrillas.
“The agreement with the Maoists is not a secret document and has been put in the public domain on the website,” Raman Singh told reporters here.
He was reacting to reports of Maoists claiming that the Chhattisgarh government had agreed to release some prisoners from jail.
The government panel will be headed by Nirmala Buch, former Madhya Pradesh chief secretary. Chhattisgarh chief secretary and police chief will also be part of the committee.
“The committee has started its work and it will look into cases registered against innocent people across state jails and will accordingly make recommendations to the courts,” he said.
Raman Singh denied having any other agreement with the Maoists. “Nothing else has been agreed to,” he said.
He also said that he wanted Menon to continue as the Sukma district collector.
Menon, who reached his home Friday morning, was released Thursday, 13 days after he had been kidnapped by Maoists.
Replying to a question on Operation Green Hunt — the paramilitary operations launched against Maoist guerrillas in the country, Raman Singh said: “There was no such operation and it does not exist in state government’s dictionary.”
He also called for a national policy to deal with hostage crises.
