Jagdalpur: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has unveiled a statue of Mahendra Karma, a senior Congress leader who was killed in the 2013 Jhiram valley Naxal attack, here in Bastar district headquarters.
The 12-feet tall statue of Karma was unveiled by the chief minister at Jhankar square late Thursday evening, a Public Relations Officer of the state government said Friday.
A former Leader of Opposition in the state assembly, Karma was popularly known as 'Bastar Tiger' for his tough stand against Naxals.
He was one of the founder-members of the now-defunct anti-Maoist militia movement 'Salwa Judum'.
Speaking on the occasion, Baghel said, "We lost our 'Bastar Tiger' in the Jhiram attack but its perpetrators are still moving freely. We will expose them and punish them under the law."
"Despite facing hurdles in catching the culprits, we are moving ahead resolutely to achieve our goal. We will not rest till the culprits are arrested, the PRO quoted the chief minister saying at the event.
The Congress government in the state has set up a 10-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the Jhiram valley Naxal attack in Bastar in which besides Karma, several other senior party leaders were killed on May 25, 2013.
Former MLA and wife of Karma, Devti Karma, her family members, Health and Family Welfare Minister TS Singhdeo and other state ministers were present on the occasion.
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