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There were reports that a tribal identified as Sukka Kunjam was set free before the Maoists handed over Manhas to a group of mediators.
Inspector general of police Sundaraj P denied the reports.
He said a few villagers had accompanied the jawans to the base camp after the April 3 encounter with the militants and had since returned to their villages. “Sukka Kunjam of Tekalgudem might be one such villager,” he said, adding: “So far, no one has been arrested in relation to the Tekalgudem encounter case.”
In 2011, the Odisha government had released five jailed Maoists to secure the release of Malkangiri district collector R Vineel Krishna.
In Chhattisgarh, Manhas was released following negotiations primarily with two people. One of them, nominated by the state government, was Dharmapal Saini, a 91-year-old activist who is known for his works to empower tribal girls through education, while the other was Gondwana Samaj president Telam Boraiya. Journalists Ganesh Mishra and Mukesh Chandraker and state officials were also involved in the talks.
The CRPF commando was reported as missing after the Sukhma-Bijapur encounter on April 3. Days later, the CPI Maoists in a press statement said he was in their custody. They asked the state to appoint mediators for his release. It added that four People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army cadres were killed in the encounter. The killed cadres were identified by the Maoists as Odi Sanni, Padam Lakhma, Kowasi Badru and Nupa Suresh, all residents of South Bastar.
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