Jayalalithaa, Karunanidhi seek safe release of kidnapped collector

Chennai, April 23 (IANS) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa and her predecessor and DMK chief M.Karunanidhi Monday urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take urgent steps for the release of Chhattisgarh's Sukma district collector Alex Paul Menon, kidnapped by Maoists Saturday.

In a letter to the prime minister, the text of which was released to the media here, Jayalalithaa said: "The abducted officer is from Tirunelveli District in Tamil Nadu and as such his family members are very worried over the safety of the officer."

"It is very unfortunate that the officer was abducted while he was discharging his official duties as the district collector. I am sure the Government of India in the Ministry of Home Affairs would have already taken steps to ensure the safe release of the abducted officer at the earliest," she wrote.

She said the local people including the family members of the abducted officer are greatly exercised over the incident, especially he is not keeping well.

Jayalalithaa urged the prime minister to take immediate steps towards securing the early and safe release of the abducted officer and thereby bring relief to his family members.

Karunanidhi, in a statement issued here, also urged the central government to extend all help to Chhattisgarh so as to secure the release of Menon.