A day after Maoists declared three-month unilateral ceasefire, Maoists abducted 11 RNA soldiers on Thursday from Ramdittha bazaar of Leguwa VDC of Dhankuta.

The rebels had abducted 16 soldiers, but some of them managed to escape, said locals.

Twenty-seven RNA men deployed at RNA’s 2nd brigade in Hile were heading home on leave. The soldiers are from Sankhuwasabha, Bhojpur and Dhankuta districts. The brigade has confirmed the abductions.

Those abducted have been identified as Shree Kumar Tamang, Dinesh Rai, Aitaraj Rai, Harka Bahadur Bishwakarma, Tek Raj Rai, Bhakta Bahadur Rai, Lal Bahadur Rai, Govinda Joshi, Dilli Ram Shrestha and Tek Bahadur Sherpa.

Issuing a statement on Friday, Ministry of Defense has said the rebels abducted 11 unarmed soldiers while they were on their way home.

Meanwhile, reports quoted Maoist spokesman Krishna Bahadur Mahara as saying that they will release all the abducted soldiers soon, adding they were abducted due to miscommunication.

He informed that the party did not have the policy to abduct soldiers. nepalnews.com pb Apr 29 06