Chhattisgarh Congress chief Nand Kumar Patel killed by Maoists

The looming fear has turned into a reality. The body of Chhattisgarh Congress president Nand Kumar Patel was found on Sunday morning not very far from the same spot at Darbha in Jagdalpur where the Congress convoy was attacked. Ejaz Kaiser reports.

The looming fear has turned into a reality. The body of Chhattisgarh Congress president Nand Kumar Patel was found on Sunday morning not very far from the same spot at Darbha in Jagdalpur where the Congress convoy was attacked.

Following the brutal attack the rebels took away Patel and his son Dinesh to a nearby forest. According to the party sources, two bodies were found about half-a-kilometre from the spot. The body of Patel has been identified but another body, feared to be of his son, lying nearby couldn’t be recognised as the face was disfigured owing to bullet injuries.

According to the unconfirmed reports, there were around 10 more bodies lying in and around the spot. Seventeen bodies were already brought to the Maharani hospital in Jagdalpur in the early hours of Sunday. There is heavy downpour since morning at Jagdalpur affecting the rescue operation.

With more bodies found after the deadly Maoist ambush on a convoy of vehicles carrying state Congress leaders and workers, the casualty figure is likely to rise further. Several were critically injured. Some congressmen who were missing returned to Jagdalpur on Sunday.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi met the injured Congressmen at a private hospital Ram Krishna Care in Raipur. He appealed his party workers to maintain calm and affirmed that such cowardly act will not deter Congress party.