DNA Special: Why freeing captured CRPF Jawan Rakeshwar Singh from Naxals is more difficult than dealing with terrorists

The four-year-old daughter of CRPF jawan Rakeshwar Singh Manhas made a poignant appeal to the Naxals to release her father who has been reportedly abducted by them. “Please, release my father”, pleaded five-year-old Shragvi, the daughter of a CoBRA commando held hostage by Naxals after an ambush in Chhattisgarh. 

Today, the entire family of Rakeshwar Singh is looking at Prime Minister Narendra Modi with hope. They are confident that just as Prime Minister Narendra Modi rescued Wing Commander Abhinandan from Pakistan, Rakeshwar Singh will also return safely.

We want the entire country to be a part of the campaign to protect the lives of all young men who don't hesitate to give up their lives to protect us. We demand the release of Rakeshwar Singh from the clutches of Naxalites. 

Even after 80 hours, CRPF's Cobra Battalion jawan Rakeshwar Singh Manhas is allegedly held captive by the Naxals.

On April 2, 10 security forces teams set out to nab Naxalite Madvi Hidma in the forests of Bijapur. Rakeshwar Singh was also part of the operation. He had spoken to his family before going for the operation. He had told his wife that he would call her the next day. But 80 hours have passed, they have not received any call so far. 

Rakeshwar Singh is 35 years old and his entire family lives in the Jammu district. Rakeshwar Singh was posted in Bijapur two years ago. The family consists of his mother, a brother, wife and a four-year-old daughter and all of them are waiting for him to return. Today, when our team went to his house in Jammu, the atmosphere was gloomy. The family had tears in their eyes and everyone in the family gathered in a room hoping that Rakeshwar Singh could get a call anytime.

So, it is not just their campaign but also ours and we all want Rakeshwar Singh to return home safely.

A purported statement by Maoists on Tuesday claimed that they abducted a jawan during a recent gun battle with security forces in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district and sought nomination of some mediators for his release. A two-page statement reportedly issued by Dandakarnya Special Zonal Committee (DSZC) of the CPI (Maoists) said the abducted jawan "will be safe in their custody" and would be handed over to the police after mediation.

The statement is being looked into, a senior security officer and a CRPF commander said. Signed by the spokesperson of the DSZC, Vikalp, the statement said the government should declare the name of some "mediators for the release of the captured jawan".

The statement claimed that the ultras looted 14 weapons, over 2,000 bullets and some other communication gadgets of the troops who were killed. The statement added that four Naxals were killed in this ambush and added that they could not pick one body.

You may recall that when the Balakot air strike took place in 2019, Wing Commander Abhinandan Vardhaman was rescued from Pakistan. At that time, India had given clear signals that India would not tolerate it if Pakistan did not spare Abhinandan.

Today, once again, there is a need to rescue another brave young man from our country. However, this time we do not have Pakistan in front of us. Rather, they are our people - the citizens of this country.

Today, many people are also asking why there is such a delay in the case of Rakeshwar Singh when the government rescued Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman from Pakistan in just 60 hours. 

This fight is against ourselves and in such battles, the hands of the security forces are bound by the shackles of human rights because today, if the Government releases Rakeshwar Singh by a major strike on these Naxalites, then some people of this country will stand up against the Government and the security forces. International institutions will also endanger human rights in India. And that's the real misfortune of our country.

Imagine today a jawan has been made captive by the Naxalites for the last 80 hours. But did you hear somewhere that these institutions have expressed concern over it? Did you hear leaders who often open their shops and sit down after such attacks? Who talk about Intelligence Failure. The bitter truth is that everything in our country is according to the agenda.

So, today, we demand the release of Rakeshwar Singh. And The family of Rakeshwar Singh is also praying the same.

Vijay Mandvi was also present when Naxalites attacked Bijapur in Chhattisgarh on April 3. He was involved in the operation on behalf of the Chhattisgarh Police District Reserve Guard. And he suffered a lot of injuries in the attack. The important thing is that Vijay Mandvi himself was a Naxalite earlier. But when he surrendered in 2016, he got a job in the District Reserve Guard squad.

Today, when our team spoke to him, he told us that Naxalite Madvi Hidma himself was there during the entire attack. And was leading this attack. Yesterday we told you that it was very important to catch Madvi Hidma before terrorist Hafiz Saeed because such Naxalites are the biggest threat to the security of the country.