Naxals release abducted CoBRA commando

Konta/Raipur, Apr 08: A CoBRA commando abducted by Naxals after the recent Bijapur ambush in Chhattisgarh was released on Thursday, official sources said.
They said constable Rakeshwar Singh Manhas of the 210th Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) was freed by the Maoists after a team of two eminent people, including a person from the tribal community, was nominated by the state government to secure his release.
Naxalites released the jawan in the presence of hundreds of villagers, including Padmashree Dharmapal Saini, Gondwana Samaj president Telam Boraiya, a member of the two-member team constituted by the government.
The jawan who hails from Jammu is being brought to the Tarrem camp of the Central Reserve Police Force located in Bijapur, a senior officer of the paramilitary said.
A team of 7 journalists from Bastar is also present along with a two-member team that went to mediate for the release of the jawan.
A total of 11 members, including a negotiating team, arrived in the rugged Bastar region to release the jawans on the call of the Naxalites.
Padma Shri Dharampal Saini and Gondwana Samaj president Boraiya Telam had reached the forest of Bastar on Thursday under the leadership of the interlocutor. Bastar journalists have played an important role in getting the jawan released from the clutches of the Maoists. Cobra jawan Rakeshwar Singh thanked the journalists.