Naxals take responsibility of deadly attack
Raipur: Claiming responsibility for the attack on a Congress convoy, Maoists on Tuesday said their main objective was to ‘punish’ senior party leaders including Nand Kumar Patel and Mahendra Karma for their ‘anti-people’ policies.
The Naxals said they also wanted to avenge atrocities on innocent villagers and tribal women during ‘Salwa Judum’ (anti-Naxal vigilante movement). In a release to the media, spokesperson of Dandkaranya Vishesh Zonal Committee Gudsa Usendi held both BJP and Congress responsible for “anti-people policies and hence senior politicians were targeted”.
The letter further states that “during Salwa Judum, hundreds of tribal women were allegedly gang-raped and several innocent villagers were killed. Through this attack, we have taken their revenge,” it added.
They said they regretted killing some ‘innocent’ people including low profile Congress functionaries, drivers and helpers in the attack. The Maoists also made several demands in the letter, calling for withdrawal of paramilitary forces from Dandakaranya and release of innocent tribals from prisons.
Heavily armed Maoists ambushed a convoy of Congress leaders in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar district on Saturday, killing 27 people including Patel, Karma and ex-MLA Uday Mudliyar besides leaving 36 others injured.
