Chhattisgarh Congress chief Nand Kumar Patel, who was missing after a Maoist attack in Bastar on Saturday, was found dead today. His son was also killed. Mr Patel was kidnapped by the leftist extremists, who attacked a Congress party convoy in which as many as 17 leaders were killed and several top leaders got serious injured. The death toll in the attack has gone up to 29.
The group of Congress leaders and party workers were ambushed at Darba Ghati valley around 5.30pm as they were driving out of the rebel stronghold of Sukma in Bastar region towards Jagdalpur after attending a rally as part of Parivartan Yatra to kick off party’s campaign for the assembly polls.
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Meanwhile, opposition Congress blamed the state government for the incident alleging that it did not provide adequate security to the ‘Parivartan Yatra’, despite having specific information about the Maoist threat.
Former Chhattisgarh Minister Mahendra Karma was also killed in the attack. Veteran Congress leader Vidya Charan Shukla, who was seriously injured in the naxal attack, was airlifted to Medanta Hospital in Gurgaon. Former Chief Minister Ajit Jogi has called for a statewide bandh on Sunday protesting the brutal Maoist attack. The Chhattisgarh Government has declared a three-day state mourning in the state.