Home Minister Amit Shah dials CoBRA commander held hostage by Maoists following release

Just hours after CoBRA commando Rakeshwar Singh Manhas was released by Maoists, Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to the jawan on Thursday night. The CoBRA commando was held hostage by Maoists since April 3 after the deadly encounter between security forces and the assailants. Shah dialled the CoBRA commando soon after his medical examination following his release. 

The Home Minister had been intricately monitoring the Maoists attack in which 22 jawans had attained martyrdom. Shah, who was in Assam when the encounter broke, curtailed his campaign and returned to the national capital to monitor the situation. He also visited Chhattisgarh, held a high-level meeting with officials and CM Bhupesh Baghel and also met with jawans injured in the encounter. 

Delighted by the release of Rakeshwar Singh Manhas, Chhattisgarh CM termed it as a 'strategic victory'. "The officers who were given this responsibility have successfully performed it. They return safely I am satisfied, their family was also worried," ANI quoted Baghel. 

CoBRA commando released 

Days after being captured in the deadly encounter at the Sukma-Bijapur border, the CoBRA commando Rakeshwar Singh Manhas has been released by Maoists on Thursday evening. The jawan was released by Maoists in the presence of hundreds of villages and the two-member team constituted by the government to oversee his release. Negotiating the release of the captured jawan, an 11-member team had arrived in the Bastar region earlier in the day.

Delighted at the CoBRA jawan's release, his wife said, "I never lost hope. I was patient that he would return home. Since the day I got to know that he was in Maoist custody, I knew that he would return home. I was confident that the government would take steps to ensure his return." 

Sukma-Bijapur Encounter

As per sources, security forces while hunting for Maoist commander Hidma were ambushed on Saturday, following which an encounter broke out. The security forces were met with nearly 400 Maoists that opened fire upon the jawans. As per officials, 22 jawans have been martyred in the encounter. The security forces consisting of DRG, CRPF, STF and Cobra commandos were deployed in an anti-Maoist operation on April 2. 760 personnel from Tarrem, 200 from Usur, 195 from Pamed, 483 from Sukma's Minpa and 420 personnel from Narsapur were involved in the anti-terror operation. According to the initial reports, the encounter lasted for over 3 hours and severe damage was inflicted on the Maoists as well. The deadly encounter witnessed 22 jawans attain martyrdom while over 30 jawans sustained injuries.