NIA to probe Chhattisgarh Naxal attack: Shinde

Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde has said the National Investigation Agency (NIA) will probe the Maoist attack on Congress leaders in Chhattisgarh.

Speaking from the United States, where he is on an official visit, Shinde said he has briefed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh about the decision to hand over the investigation to the NIA, and also asked Union Home Secretary R K Singh to monitor the probe.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi alongwith other leaders visited Chhattisgarh to review the situation arising out of the Maoist attack on the state Congress leadership.

Heavily-armed Maoists had ambushed a convoy of Congress leaders in Chhattisgarh's Bastar district on Saturday, killing 28 people, including Congress leader Mahendra Karma, Pradesh Congress Committee chief Nand Kumar Patel, his son Dinesh and ex-MLA Uday Mudliyar and injuring 32 others, including former union minister V C Shukla.

Shukla is being treated at a Gurgaon's Medanta hospital where he is stated to be critical but stable.

The Congress convoy, returning from the party's Parivartan Yatra was targeted near Darbha forest in Jagdalpur, about 340 km south of state capital Raipur.

Chhattisgarh is headed for Assembly Elections later this year.