Chhattisgarh Naxal attack: Congress leader VC Shukla still critical

Doctors at Gurgaon's Medanta Medicity Hospital have said that the condition of senior Congress leader Vidya Charan Shukla, who suffered a gunshot injuries in a Maoist attack in Chhattisgarh's Bastar District, is still critical but stable.

Shukla was airlifted from Raipur on Sunday morning.

Prior to being moved to Gurgaon, the 84-year-old former union minister underwent an operation at a Jagdalpur hospital for removal of the three bullets that he had received in the attack.

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi visited Shukla at the Medanta Hospital soon after coming returning from Chhattisgarh.

The two leaders inquired about Shukla's health from the hospital staff and his family members.

BJP leader LK Advani, Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit also visited Shukla at the hospital.

"I went to the ICU and all parameters indicate that there is stability (in Shukla's condition). I felt relieved after seeing him but this is one of the most audacious attacks that have taken place in recent times. I spoke to the Prime Minister also, and requested him that concerted efforts should be made to combat and overcome this menace," Advani told reporters outside the hospital.

At least 28 people, including senior Congress leader Nand Kumar Patel, Mahendra Karma, were killed and several others injured when heavily-armed Maoists ambushed a convoy of party leaders inside a dense forest in Chhattisgarh's Bastar district.

The body of Chhattisgarh Congress chief Nand Kumar Patel, who was kidnapped along with his son after Maoists ambushed a convoy of party leaders, was found on Sunday in a forest in Bastar district. The body has been spotted near Darba Gati Valley, police said.