CRPF jawan, captured by Maoists in Chhattisgarh after April 3 gunfight, released

Rakeshwar Singh Manhas, a commando with CRPF's CoBRA unit, was released deep in the jungle around 5pm and is yet to reach the Terrem camp, a CRPF officer said.

A soldier of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), who was captured by the Maoists in Chhattisgarh after April 3 gunfight, was released on Thursday.

Rakeshwar Singh Manhas after being released by the Maoists on Thursday (Sourced)

Rakeshwar Singh Manhas, a commando with CRPF's CoBRA unit, was released deep in the jungle and was brought to the Terrem camp.

"At around 4.30pm 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.

The 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.

After he was released, 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."

Twenty-two soldiers from the CRPF’s CoBRA unit, District Reserve Guard, and the Special Task Force lost their lives in a five-hour-long clash with Maoists on April 3. The security personnel were caught unaware when Maoists started to fire indiscriminately from hill tops after luring them into a U-type ambush.

The operation, planned over two weeks, was led by the commander of battalion number-1, Madvi Hidma, officials familiar with the developments said.