BJP MPs son killed in Bastar attack

Bastar Janpad panchayat president Tansen,son of BJP MP Baliram Kashyap,was shot dead and his brother Dinesh sustained serious injuries when four unidentified assailants opened fire at them at Garguda near Bhanpuri in Bastar region. The attack is widely believed to be a Naxal reprisal for the recent security offensive against them.

The Chhattisgarh government has asked all Members of Parliament,legislators,other elected representatives and its senior officials to remain alert in view of the possibility of Maoist retaliation. We have already asked elected representatives,particularly those from the Naxal-affected areas to remain cautious and provide prior information to the District Collector and Superintendent of Police concerned regarding their movements,state Home Minister Nankiram Kanwar said in the aftermath of the attack.

Tansen and Dinesh had gone to a temple to offer Ashtami puja. State minister for Public Health Engineering Kedar Kashyap,said that their younger brother was also present at the temple but the attack happened immediately after he had left. Quoting eye witnesses,police said the assailants opened fire from close range,seriously injuring both of them. They were rushed to the government district hospital at Jagdalpur where Tansen succumbed to his injuries while Dineshs condition is reported to be stable.

He is being airlifted to a hospital in the state capital,they added.

I am not ruling out the possibility of Naxal involvement as the Maoists are now feeling the heat of the anti-Naxal operations by the state and Central forces, Kanwar said. He asked the media to exercise restraint in reporting on anti-Naxal operations.