Naxals free Chhattisgarh govt peon, sub-engineer still in captivity

A peon working in a Chhattisgarh government department was released by Naxals, two days after he and a sub-engineer were abducted while surveying an under-construction road in Bijapur district, police said on Saturday.

However, the sub-engineer is still in the captivity of ultras, they said.

Sub Engineer Roshan Lakra (35) of the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna (PMGSY) and his department’s peon Lakshman Partagiri (24) went missing on Thursday when they had gone for conducting a survey of a road being built on a 15-km stretch between Bijapur town and Gorna-Mankeli, a senior police officer said.

“When Lakra and Partagiri did not return till Friday evening to the Bijapur district headquarter, a search was launched to trace their whereabouts,” he said.

Later, police received information that the two were abducted from Kanhaiguda village, located around 4 km away from Gorna, by militia cadres of Maoists, he said. ”On Friday late evening, Partagiri was freed at the same spot and he is safe. Lakra is still in the captivity of ultras and efforts are being made to secure his safe release”, he added.