Jammu & Kashmir lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha has said the Union home ministry is working for the release of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) commando Rakeshwar Singh Manhas from Maoist captivity in Chhattisgarh. “I express my solidarity with the jawan and his family. I am confident that by the grace of God, he will safely return home,” Sinha told reporters on the sidelines of a function on Wednesday. Sinha added efforts to bring back Manhas cannot be discussed in the public domain.
The comments came as hundreds of angry people, including Manhas’s family, on Wednesday blocked a road demanding urgency to ensure his release.
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Manhas, 35, who is from Jammu, was part of the CRPF party that was attacked in Chhattisgarh on Sunday.
He went missing after the April 2 attack. Maoists on Wednesday released a photograph of Manhas and demanded that a mediator be appointed to negotiate his release.
The photograph showed Manhas sitting alone in what appeared to be a hut. According to local journalists in the region, the photo was sent on WhatsApp. “At 11.27 am, a photograph of the missing jawan was sent on a WhatsApp number by Maoist leader Vikalp,” said Sukma-based journalist Raja Rathore.