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Syed Amin Jafri in Hyderabad
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday disclosed that most of the victims killed in the bus blast engineered by the outlawed People's War Group Naxalites were tribals.
Making a statement in the legislative assembly on Tuesday morning, Naidu put the toll in the incident at 14, with 16 seriously injured.
But informed sources have put the toll at 25.
Naidu termed the incident 'ghastly' describing it as 'PWG's mindless violence against innocent people'.
The chief minister said that there were 35 passengers and crew in the State Road Transport Corporation bus. Most of them were tribals, who had boarded the bus at Kannaigudem after attending a shandy (weekly bazaar) there.
When the bus was passing through the forested area between Chintagudem and Singaram villages, extremists blasted it using landmines, he said.
Naidu announced ex-gratia payment of Rs 300,000 each to the families of the deceased. He said a government job for one family member and free land for a house for each family would be provided.
Ex-gratia payment of Rs 100,000 would be made to each of the seriously injured persons and Rs 50,000 to the other injured.
Cutting across party affiliations, leaders of all political parties in the assembly strongly condemned Naxalite attack.
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