Veteran congress leader VC Shukla, who was critically injured in the deadly attack by Maoists last month, died in a Gurgaon hospital on Tuesday.
The former union minister had sustained three bullet injuries and his lungs and liver were damaged in the attack on 25 May. He was initially treated at a Jagdalpur in Chattisgarh, but was later airlifted to Medanta Hospital at Gurgaon.
Shukla who had undergone two surgeries for the removal of bullets showed signs of improvement and remained stable for a week. However, his condition deteriorated and he was put on life support system on Tuesday. Earlier in the day, doctors at the Medanta hospital said that Shukla was facing troubles in breathing and had been kept on a ventilator.
However, the 84-year-old Congress veteran died of multiple organ failure as a result of injuries that he sustained during the deadly naxal attack.
Prime minister Manmohan Singh condoled the demise of the senior leader.
On 25 May, Maoist rebels had ambushed the convoy of senior Congress leaders at Darbha Ghat section on Jagdalpur-Sukma highway in Bastar, Chhattisgarh. At least 26 people were killed in the attack including Chhattisgarh Congress chief Nandkumar Patel, his son Dinesh Patel, former Congress MLA Uday Mudliyar and Senior Congress leader Mahendra Karma, who was instrumental in setting up two major anti-Maoist movements in Chhattisgarh - Salwa Judum in 2005 and the Jan Jagaran Abhiyan in the mid-1990s.
With the demise of Shukla, the death toll from Maoist attack has risen to 27. Shukla had served as the information and broadcasting minister during Emergency and was reportedly close to former Prime minister Rajiv Gandhi. He was also the former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh.
