A day after Maoists' mediators announced that abducted Sukma collector Alex Paul Menon will be released within 48 hours, on or before May 2, the Chhattisgarh government said it was hopeful the 10-day hostage crisis will come to an end and the IAS officer would be freed by Wednesday. The break-through to ensure the safe return of the 32-year-old collector, abducted on April 21, came in after an agreement between the two mediators each of the Chhattisgarh government and the Maoist on Monday.