Chattisgarh attack: V C Shukla's condition critical but stable

Shukla had received bullet injuries in Saturday's Maoist attack

The condition of senior Congress leader V C Shukla, who received bullet injuries in Saturday's Maoist attack, was today "critical but stable".

Dr Naresh Trehan, the Chairman of Medanta Hospital, said 84-year-old Shukla was critical and his recovery will take a little long due to his advanced age.

"He is critical but stable. He is on ventilator and the dialysis is going on. We are trying to remove the toxins. He will be in the ICU for long. Treatment will go on for long due to the age factor," Trehan said.

He said there was an intestinal injury and toxicity in the body.

"Shukla has got three gunshot wounds, two in the chest and one in the abdomen. There are fragmentations in the body and we have operated and removed the damage. Normally in such cases there is a pressure in the kidneys after that," he said.

Dr Yatin Mehta, the head of Medanta's Institute of Critical Care and Anaesthesiology, said, "When there is an age factor and rupture in intestine, there are lot of toxins spreading in the blood and stomach. Infection spread in abdomen due to rupture in the intestine.

"We are using high-end antibiotics and special devices are being used to remove the toxins. Treatment is going on but it takes time to take effect. He is 84 and age is not in his favour. But our entire team is working and hope improvement will be there," he said.

Trehan said special filters are being used to remove toxins from his body.

Shukla was airlifted to Medanta Hospital in Gurgaon from Raipur yesterday.

Heavily-armed Maoists had ambushed a convoy of Congress leaders in Chattisgarh's Bastar district on Saturday, killing 27 people including senior Congress leader Mahendra Karma, and injuring Shukla and 31 others.