Chhattisgarh attack: Maoists release abducted CoBRA commando after five days

New Delhi/Raipur: A CoBRA commando abducted by Naxals after the Bijapur ambush in Chhattisgarh on 3 April 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 this evening after a team of few eminent people, including a person from the tribal community, was nominated by the state government to secure his release.An unverified picture shared by security officials showed Manhas wearing his green coloured jungle combat dress and standing with at least four "mediators" with a number of locals sitting in the forested background.Another picture showed the commando riding pillion on a motorbike with a local journalist while another photo showed a scribe clicking selfie with him.One of the eminent persons instrumental in the release was identified by security agencies as social worker Dharampal Saini.The jawan has been handed over to CRPF's Deputy Inspector General (Bijapur) Komal Singh at the Basaguda camp in Bijapur and his medical checkup is underway, sources in the paramilitary force said.They said the jawan will be kept at a camp and will soon be put through a "debriefing" session to understand the circumstances as to how he was taken away by the Maoists and what happened with him during the custody.Officials had said that the ''buddy'' of Manhas had told officers that the jawan sat down exhausted during the ambush while on their way back to their camp on a fateful day.A heavy exchange of gunfire is cited as the probable reason for the commando getting detached from his unit and buddy.Twenty-two security personnel were killed while 31 others were injured in the deadly ambush that took place on April 3 along the Bijapur-Sukma district border.