Bijapur Naxal Encounter: Days after Ambush, Maoists say missing jawan in their custody

TIL Desk/National/Chhattisgarh/ The Maoists have released a statement confirming that the missing CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action) commando is in their custody and sought the appointment of a mediator to whom he could be handed over. Rakeshwar Singh Manhas went missing after the April 3 ambush in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region. The ultras have asked the state government to appoint interlocutors for his release.

The Maoists have, however, not raised any formal demands for the release of the commando. Police are verifying the authenticity of the statement, purportedly issued by the outlaws. The banned outfit also admitted that four of its cadres were killed in the encounter in which 22 security personnel had lost their lives.

Constable Rakeshwar Singh Manhas of the 210th CoBRA battalion, an elite unit of CRPF, had gone missing after the gunfight along the border of Sukma and Bijapur districts last Saturday. The CPI (Maoist) statement also claimed that 24 security personnel were killed in the encounter.