2013 Naxal attack in Darbha valley - 25th May 2013.
- 5 years ago
Sukma district is a part of the "red corridor", the belt affected by the Naxalite--Maoist insurgency. This region has been under continuous attack by the Maoists, who have been targeting police personnel and political leaders.
On 25 May 2013, a convoy of Indian National Congress leaders was attacked in the Darbha Valley in the Sukma district of Chhattisgarh, India. The attack was carried out by the Naxalite insurgents of the banned organisation Communist Party of India (Maoist), resulting in at least 27 deaths, including that of the former state minister Mahendra Karma and the Chhattisgarh Congress chief Nand Kumar Patel.
Leaders of the Indian National Congress were carrying out a Parivartan Yatra ("Change" Rally) in the state, with a convoy of 25 vehicles carrying around 200 Congress leaders and workers. They were returning from a meeting organised in Sukma and were headed to Keshloor nearby Jagdalpur along National Highway 202 which connects Chhattisgarh with Naxal-hit Bhadrachalam district in the adjacent state of Andhra Pradesh.
Almost all the senior state party leaders; former Union Minister Vidya Charan Shukla, former state minister Mahendra Karma, Nand Kumar Patel, MLA from Rajnandgaon Uday Mudaliyar and prominent woman tribal leader Phulo Devi Netam from Bastar were present.
As the convoy reached the deeply forested area of Dharba valley on Jagdalpur-Sukma Highway, 50 km from its destination, it was blocked by a tree that had been felled by Maoists. The Maoists triggered an IED near the fourth vehicle in the convoy, completely damaging the vehicle and leaving a crater in the ground. In an attempt to flee, several vehicles collided with each other.
As the vehicles slowed down, around 250 Maoists who had hidden themselves in the adjoining hill tops of the Keshkal hills opened fire from both the sides. The personnel security officers of the Congress leaders took positions and tried to defend them. The Maoists then waited for the PSOs to run out of ammunition before asking the Congress leaders to surrender.
The Maoists, however, started firing indiscriminately when the Congress leaders emerged out of their vehicles. Eyewitness said that when the Maoists struck, the mobile phones of all leaders were also taken. The firing continued for over 90 minutes, until the security forces ran out of ammunition. Then they asked the leaders to surrender themselves.
On 25 May 2013, a convoy of Indian National Congress leaders was attacked in the Darbha Valley in the Sukma district of Chhattisgarh, India. The attack was carried out by the Naxalite insurgents of the banned organisation Communist Party of India (Maoist), resulting in at least 27 deaths, including that of the former state minister Mahendra Karma and the Chhattisgarh Congress chief Nand Kumar Patel.
Leaders of the Indian National Congress were carrying out a Parivartan Yatra ("Change" Rally) in the state, with a convoy of 25 vehicles carrying around 200 Congress leaders and workers. They were returning from a meeting organised in Sukma and were headed to Keshloor nearby Jagdalpur along National Highway 202 which connects Chhattisgarh with Naxal-hit Bhadrachalam district in the adjacent state of Andhra Pradesh.
Almost all the senior state party leaders; former Union Minister Vidya Charan Shukla, former state minister Mahendra Karma, Nand Kumar Patel, MLA from Rajnandgaon Uday Mudaliyar and prominent woman tribal leader Phulo Devi Netam from Bastar were present.
As the convoy reached the deeply forested area of Dharba valley on Jagdalpur-Sukma Highway, 50 km from its destination, it was blocked by a tree that had been felled by Maoists. The Maoists triggered an IED near the fourth vehicle in the convoy, completely damaging the vehicle and leaving a crater in the ground. In an attempt to flee, several vehicles collided with each other.
As the vehicles slowed down, around 250 Maoists who had hidden themselves in the adjoining hill tops of the Keshkal hills opened fire from both the sides. The personnel security officers of the Congress leaders took positions and tried to defend them. The Maoists then waited for the PSOs to run out of ammunition before asking the Congress leaders to surrender.
The Maoists, however, started firing indiscriminately when the Congress leaders emerged out of their vehicles. Eyewitness said that when the Maoists struck, the mobile phones of all leaders were also taken. The firing continued for over 90 minutes, until the security forces ran out of ammunition. Then they asked the leaders to surrender themselves.