The first meeting of the newly constituted high-power standing committee was held in Raipur late last night, soon after the release of the abducted collector of Sukma Alex Paul Menon.

The Chhattisgarh government, as per the agreement reached between the mediators of the government and the Maoists for the release of Menon, constituted the committee barely within 5 minutes of the release of the Collector.

The committee, chaired by Mrs. Nirmala Buch, a former chief secretary of Madhya Pradesh has the chief secretary and the police D.G as its members.

The committee is to regularly review cases of persons, including those of the Maoists, for which investigation and prosecution is still pending in the Chhattisgarh jails.

Meanwhile, Mr. Menon reached Sukma this morning along with both the mediators Dr. B.D. Sharma and Prof. Hargopal. He had been released by the Maoists last evening in Tadmetla after 13 days of captivity.