LOC10:25
07:25 GMT
NEW DELHI, May 26 (KUNA) -- Bodies of top politicians who were kidnapped by
India's Naxal rebels were found mutilated Sunday morning following a
spectacular attack in the central Indian state of Chattisgarh yesterday
evening, in which at least 27 people are feared dead.
Police sources say bodies of congress party chief of the state Nand Kumar
Patel and his son Dinesh Patel who were kidnapped by Naxal were found in Jiram
valley of Bastar region on Sunday.
The bodies of father and son, showing bullet wounds, were found in a ditch
along with those of eight other victims who were seized by Naxal immediately
after an attack on a convoy of congress leaders yesterday, in which IED and
assault rifles were used.
The attack by nearly 150 Naxal rebels also claimed the life of former union
minister V. C. Shukla and congress party senior leader Mahendra Karma, a
former tribal chief wanted by Naxal for the creation of the pro-government
militia Salwa Judum.
Judum was accused of rights violations in the area and the Supreme Court
had recently declared it "illegal" and called for its immediate dissolution.
Meanwhile, the state is on a three-day state of mourning and the central
government has rushed paramilitary forces to Chattisgarh to nab the guerrillas
involved in the attack.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and congress chief Sonia Gandhi termed the
attack "despicable" and said the party was "devastated". Both leaders are
visiting the state today.
Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Rajnath Singh also condemned
the attack saying, "We should fight it and rise above petty political
considerations."
The Naxal rebels have a strong presence in many central states of India,
and have been described by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as the "country's
biggest security threat."
India's Naxal (also known as Maoists) are fighting for the greater rights
of poor farmers and landless workers. They are operative in rural pockets in
20 of India's 28 states and are fighting a brutal guerrilla war against Indian
troops since the late 1960s.
The Indian government recognizes that there are legitimate grievances
regarding local peoples' access to forest land and produce and the
distribution of benefits from mining developments, but maintains that the
Naxal long-term goal "is to establish an Indian Marxist state".(end)
mub.wsa
KUNA 261025 May 13NNNN