The biggest ever Maoist attack on a political party enacted at Darbha valley in restive Bastar, Chhattisgarh Saturday was not a random action of the insurgents but a well planned and coordinated operation.
According to eye witnesses, attackers were Maoist insurgents dressed in attire of Bastar villagers numbering around 250. They were carrying traditional arms while around 100 hardcore cadre were equipped with modern rifles and hand grenades.
Attackers were mostly between 19 to 24 years of age, physically well built and were talking in Telugu language even if female cadre outnumbered their male counterparts.
It is also clear that the focus of attackers was on selected leaders – Mahendra Karma and Nand Kumar Patel as they were repeatedly asking for the duo as soon as the convoy of Congress leaders was ambushed at Jhiram valley, near Darbha.
According to eyewitnesses, while the insurgents left common workers after firing some bullets on them as well as on their vehicles, they started
celebrating and dancing by encircling him as soon as they identified Mahendra Karma who was top on their hit list for quite some time and had escaped several bid of the Maoists to kill him given the fact that Karma was associated with anti-Maoist movement and was said to be the brain behind Salwa Judum movement.
Their aversion for Karma can be gauged from the fact that even if Karma surrendered before them asking the insurgents to spare others, the rebels sprayed almost 200 rounds on him and also pierces butt of their riffles in his body disfiguring it beyond recognition.
The insurgents also took Nand Kumar Patel and his son Dinesh to some 100 metres
distance away by tying their hands after confirming the identity of the duo from fellow Congress workers and shot them dead even if they spared the lives of gunmen and
security officers after
injuring them.