The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has begun probe into the audacious Maoist attack at a Parivartan Rally of the Congress in Chhattisgarh that resulted in the death of 27 persons including almost entire State leadership of the party.
The team led by Inspector General of NIA Sanjeev Kumar Singh reached Raipur on Monday morning and is gathering the call logs of VHF sets of the security personnel who were accompanying the Congress leaders. The call logs are expected to unravel the sequence of events before and after the attack and help draw conclusions.
Role of suspect politicians and Naxal leaders already under the scanner of the State and Central intelligence agencies is being investigated, NIA sources said.
Maoist politburo member Katakam Sudarshan alias Anand is suspected to be the mastermind behind the attack at Darbha in Bastar district.
The NIA probe will also investigate the larger conspiracy behind the attack and find out possible lapses on the part of the Central and State agencies. The State intelligence apparatus had issued an alert even on the fateful Saturday warning the Congress leaders are under threat, especially in the wake of ongoing Tactical Counter Offensive Campaign of the Maoists in the State.
The reasons behind pick and choose tactics on the part of the Naxals to eliminate the Congress leaders and release some others after abduction will also be probed. The shift in the Naxal ploy to abduct officials and politicians to bargain for release of their jailed cadre and seek ransom is also being studied. The ultras neither demanded release of the jailed inmates or ransom after abducting the Congress leaders on Saturday.
lack of adherence to the Standard Operating Procedures in the movement of VIPs in a Naxal-affected area will also be probed. lack of deployment of road opening parties, taking the same route to return after the conduct of the rally and sanitising the area will form the subject matter of the investigation, an official said.
“Any lapse on the part of Central forces or the State Government, buck will have to be stopped somewhere. We have to take action,” Minister of State for Home RPN Singh said.
The agencies are said to be “intrigued” by the latest trend of the ultras by executing an attack in which almost the entire Congress leadership was wiped out.
The NIA has taken over the case registered in Darbha police station under various sections of IPC, Arms Act, Explosive Act and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The case was handed over to NIA on Monday.
As many as 27 persons including Pradesh Congress Committee chief Nand Kumar Patel, his son Dinesh, Congress leader Mahendra Karma were killed and 32 others, including former Union Minister VC Shukla, were injured in Saturday’s incident.