Chhattisgarh ambush: CRPF jawan from Jammu missing
Family urges PM to get him back
Govind Sharma
JAMMU, Apr 5: Constable Rakeshwar Singh Manhas, a CoBRA Commando of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) from Jammu has been missing from the site of the Chhattisgarh ambush in which 22 security personnel of the CRPF got martyrdom on Saturday.
Son of the soil, Rakeshwar Singh Manhas was part of the joint offensive of security forces comprising CRPF, its elite unit CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action), the District Reserve Guard (DRG) and the Special Task Force (STF), comprising 2000 security personnel that launched an anti-Naxal operation from Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur and Sukma districts in the South Bastar forests, considered as the Maoist stronghold, on Friday night.
Bijapur encounter: Maoist letter confirms missing CRPF jawan is being held hostage, demands negotiator
Top security officials have confirmed to India Today TV that the letter sent by Maoists stating they have held the missing CRPF jawan as hostage, is authentic.
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UPDATED: April 7, 2021 00:07 IST
The Maoists have demanded that the government should appoint a negotiator, following which CRPF jawan Rakeshwar Singh Manhas will be handed over. (Photo sourced by India Today)
The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawan who is missing since the deadly encounter in Chhattisgarh s Bijapur on Saturday, is being held captive by the Maoists. Top sources in the security establishment have confirmed to India Today TV that the letter that they have received, purportedly from the Maoists, is authentic.
Terrorists attack CRPF party in Handwara of North Kashmir
In a major Maoist attack last week, a total of 22 security personnel were killed and 31 injured in a fierce gun battle with a platoon of over 300 People s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) in Chhattisgarh s Bijapur district, officials said. Central Reserve Police Force s (CRPFs) Rakeshwar Singh Manhas from the 3.25 lakh strong paramilitary force s elite CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action) unit went missing, and per latest reports, he is in the captivity of Maoists.
Bijapur Superintendent of police Kamlochan Kashyap said the search efforts to trace the commando are underway. But the wife of the missing jawan broke down while sharing her grievance and appealing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to bring back her husband. Meenu Manhas, while speaking to media, urged PM Modi to bring back her husband like how Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was brought back from Pakistan in February 2019.
Bijapur encounter: Unidentified caller claims missing jawan in Maoist captivity, wife appeals to PM Modi for release
The CRPF has received reports that constable Rakeshwar Singh Manhas, who went missing in the Bijapur encounter on Saturday, was taken captive by Naxals. The speculation arose after calls were allegedly made by Naxal leader Hidma to Chhattisgarh-based journalists claiming the same.
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UPDATED: April 5, 2021 17:35 IST
The Naxals are yet to make any demands for the return of CRPF jawan Rakeshwar Singh Manhas. (Photo sourced by India Today)
The fate of 35-year-old constable Rakeshwar Singh Manhas is unknown since he went missing from the Bijapur encounter site on Saturday.