At least eight Congressmen were feared killed as Maoist guerrillas ambushed Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee (CPCC) president Nand Kumar Patel’s convoy — comprising about 25 vehicles — between Indagaon and Udanti under Mainpur police station, nearly 120 km from here, on Wednesday evening, reports reaching here said.
The local police told this newspaper that two bodies have so far been recovered.
Mr Patel had a providential escape along with other senior Congress leaders — Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Ravindra Choubey, PCC working president Satyanarayan Sharma, party MLAs Kuldeep Singh Juneja and Amitesh Shukla and former PCC president Dhanendra Sahoo.
“At least eight people — who were in the vehicle that was blown apart in the Naxal landmine blast — are feared dead. One worker was killed and four others injured — who were travelling in another vehicle — in firing by rebels,” the PCC working president told this newspaper.
When contacted, the additional director-general of police (ADG) (anti-Naxal operation), Mr Ramniwas, however, said, “At this juncture, it is not possible to pinpoint the number of casualties.”
“Security personnel, who had rushed from Raipur and Mainpur, were yet to reach the blast spot, located in a densely forested area,” he added.
The police said the Multi-Utility Vehicle (MUV), which was hit by landmine, flew nearly 20 feet under the impact of the explosion. The explosion also left a 5-foot-deep and 8-foot-wide hole on the road.
Reports reaching the state police headquarters here said the incident occurred at around 6 pm when a large number of Congress leaders and workers were returning to Raipur after attending a farmers’ rally at Aramora under Debhog block in Raipur district in around 25 vehicles.
The Naxals triggered a powerful landmine blast, reportedly targeting Mr Patel’s vehicle. But the landmine missed the target and hit another vehicle.
“After triggering the blast, the Naxals, who were hiding behind roadside trees, opened fire on us,” Mr Niraj Singh Thakur, an eyewitness, told this newspaper.
Later, the Congress leaders were escorted by security personnel to the Mainpur police station. They were escorted to Raipur late in the evening.