CRPF Jawan's Wife Urges Govt To Take Action For His Release From Naxal Captivity

CRPF jawan wife appeals for his release: Meenu Manhas, wife of CoBRA unit jawan Rakeshwar Singh Manhas who has been held captive by CPI (Maoists), appealed to the centre Wednesday urging due action for his release. The family has joined street protests in Jammu-Kashmir, where locals have blocked a highway demanding Manhas' release.

A jawan, from the CoBRA battalion of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), was reported to have gone missing after the Maoist ambush in Bijapur, Chhattisgarh on April 3, which also left 22 security personnel dead. On Tuesday, a statement claimed to be issued by the Maoist outfit noted that a CoBRA commando was in their captivity and that the government should send interlocutors for negotiation.

"If a jawan reports to his duty a day after his leave ends then action is taken against him. Now that a jawan is missing since April 3 no action has been taken by government. We want government to search for a mediator so that he is released," news agency ANI

If a jawan reports to his duty a day after his leave ends then action is taken against him. Now that a jawan is missing since April 3 no action has been taken by govt.We want govt to search for a mediator so that he is released: Meenu, wife of CRPF jawan Rakeshwar Singh Manhas pic.twitter.com/id11PHYkh7

CRPF Jawan Wife Meenu Manhas Joins Protests In J&K

Meenu revealed that she had been in touch with her husband in the time before he went missing, when he said he would return home after a security operation. Following reports of the Naxal ambush and the jawan's disappearance, local journalists received anonymous calls that claimed Manhas was in the rebels' captivity.

The jawan's family proceeded to issue public appeals on video for his release. A clip of Manhas' five-year-old daughter Raghvi, saying, "Main apnay Papa se bohat pyaar karti hun. Please Naxal uncle, mere Papa ko ghar bhej do," went viral on social media. More here.

Visuals from Kashmir show that Manhas' family, including his wife and daughter, have joined locals on the Jammu-Akhnoor highway to demand central action for the jawan's release.

Jammu and Kashmir: Locals block Jammu-Akhnoor highway demanding the release of CRPF jawan Rakeshwar Singh Manhas who has been held captive by naxals.

CRPF jawan Rakeshwar Singh Manhas' family members have also joined the protest. pic.twitter.com/8GS9Lnu6s7

— ANI (@ANI) April 7, 2021

A picture of Manhas in captivity was also allegedly released by the CPI (Maoist) outfit on Wednesday, as per Hindustan Times. Received by local journalists in Sukma-Bijapur, where the ambush occurred, the photo shows Manhas in uniform under a makeshift roof. The rebels, in their earlier statement, had mentioned they would not harm the captured jawan.