The soldier of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Rakeshwar Singh Manhas, who was captured by the Naxalites in Chhattisgarh after the April 3 ambush, was released on Thursday. According to ANI, the soldier was taken to the CRPF camp in Bijapur after his release where his medical examination was done.
https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1380143522079141888?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw“At around 4.30 pm the abducted jawan Rakeshwar Singh Manhas returned safely to Terrem police station along with the facilitators who went inside the jungle to trace his location. He has now been admitted to the Basaguda field hospital for medical examination,” Inspector general of police (Bastar range), Sundarraj P said.
According to reports, the state government had adhered to the Naxal terrorist’s demands and nominated two people, including a person from the tribal community, to negotiate with the Maoists and secure the soldier’s release.
Sharing more details about the release, journalist Aditya Raj Kaul wrote on Twitter that the CRPF jawan could be brought back because of the timely intervention of a few local journalists, who mediated with the Maoists facilitating Rakeshwar Singh Manhas’s release.
https://twitter.com/AdityaRajKaul/status/1380146105170546688?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwAccording to another video shared by Aditya Raj Kaul, the Maoists released the jawan amidst a huge gathering of locals in Bijapur.
https://twitter.com/AdityaRajKaul/status/1380150175356878853?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwThe Maoists earlier released a photograph of the 35-year-old which showed him sitting alone in what appeared to be a hut. Manhas is a commando with the 210th CoBRA battalion.
Manhas’ family had appealed to the Centre to ensure he is released unharmed. He is the family’s sole breadwinner, and has a five-year-old daughter.
Following Rakeshwar Singh Manhas’ release, his wife Meenu expressed her gratitude to the government and said, “Today is the happiest day of my life. I always remained hopeful of his return. I thank the government”.
Maoist terrorists admit to keeping CoBRA jawan hostage after Sukma attack, demand govt negotiator
Days after the deadly terror attack in Sukma, the Left-wing terrorists had admitted that they are keeping CRPF constable Rakeshwar Singh Manhas as a hostage. The terrorists had sent a letter to the security forces, acknowledging that they are holding Manhas captive and asked the government to appoint a negotiator to discuss his release.
The brutal massacre of Indian security personnel in Chhattisgarh
For the uninitiated, Rakeshwar Singh Manhas was abducted by the Naxal terrorists after a group of 400 Naxals ambushed a massive operation that included the STF, DRG and District Force of the Chhattisgarh Police, the CRPF and its elite COBRA unit on April 3. The teams were deployed in the forests of Chhattisgarh for a search and destroy anti-Naxalite operation along the border of the Bijapur-Sukma district.
It was during this operation that the security teams of around 1500 personnel were ambushed by 400 Naxalites from three sides- led by the most-wanted Maoist commander and leader of the ‘People’s Liberation Guerilla Army’- Hidma. The close encounter between the Naxalites and security forces lasted for four hours in which the Naxalites rained bullets from light machine guns, used low-intensity IEDs and rocket launchers.
The counter-attack by Naxalites had resulted in the martyrdom of 22 jawans leaving 31 others injured.