Eleven more bodies of Congress leaders, including those of abducted Chhattisgarh PCC president Nand Kumar Patel and his son Dinesh, were recovered Sunday from Jiram Ghat in Bastar region, where Naxals ambushed a Congress convoy Saturday, taking the toll to 28.
“The death toll in Saturday’s Maoist attack on the Congress convoy has risen to 28 with 11 more bodies recovered”, chief minister Raman Singh told reporters here. The deceased included 10 jawans, mostly personal security officers of some Congress leaders.
The security forces deployed in the search operation after the Maoist ambush spotted the bullet-ridden bodies of the PCC chief and his son on a mound inside the forest, just half a kilometre from the attack site.
The Maoists had abducted Mr Patel and his young son after ambushing the Congress convoy. Besides the bodies of the PCC chief and his son, nine other bodies were also found.
Altogether 32 people were injured in the attack. Of this, 27 were shifted to a specialised hospital in Raipur after their condition worsened.
PM Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi arrived here Sunday and went straight to Rama Krishan Care Hospital to visit the injured leaders. They also visited the Congress Bhavan to pay tribute.