Naidu escapes bid on life

PWG suspected to be behind attack on chief minister's convoy

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu today miraculously escaped a mine blast, suspected to be the handiwork of the outlawed People's War Group (PWG), in the temple town of Tirupati.

The blast took place around 4.30 pm when the chief minister's convoy was proceeding to Tirumala along the ghat road.

Naidu was going to Tirumala to make offerings to Lord Venkateswara on the occasion of Brahmotsavam.

The chief minister suffered minor injuries on his chest, collar bone and right shoulder. Had he not been in the front seat of the car, the injuries would have been serious.

His Cabinet colleague B Gopalakrishna Reddy and two other ruling party MLAs, who were seated in the backseat, were also injured in the blast.

The chief minister's bullet-proof car was badly damaged. Efforts are on to shift the chief minister and the other injured politicians, who were admitted in a local hospital, to Hyderabad tonight for better treatment. A special flight had been requisitioned from Chennai for the purpose.

"The chief minister is safe. He suffered some minor injuries. There is nothing to worry," Home Minister T Devender Goud said, adding that " it was a mindless and cowardly act of naxalites."

Six Claymore mines were said to be planted near the ghat road and were triggered one after the other when the convoy was going to Tirumala.

The police immediately cordoned off the area and a massive combing operation was launched. As the blast sent shock waves across the state, senior ministers held a meeting at the state secretariat in Hyderabad to review the situation.

The blast was apparently triggered from behind the trees near a culvert as the chief minister's convoy was on its way to the temple.

One of the cars in the chief minister's convoy was badly damaged and plunged off the road from the impact of the blast. Among the injured, the condition of one MLA is stated to be serious.

According to the latest information, the chief minister also suffered minor injuries to his abdomen and knee. Heeding the advice of doctors, it has been decided to keep the chief minister at Tirupati for a day.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee spoke to the chief minister over telephone from Delhi and enquired about his health. While combing the blast area, the police recovered two more Claymore mines.