In Chhattisgarh, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is looking into reasons for sudden discontinuation of road construction and widening work on the Tongpal-Darbha stretch, the road that passes through Jhiram Ghati, a month before the Congress leaders were ambushed by Maoists. The agency has asked National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to furnish a list of all contractors and workers involved in the construction and widening works on National Highways 30 and 63 for scrutiny.
The agency is also looking into possibility of link between the Darbha killings on May 25 and the series of bomb blasts that have rocked major road construction sites on the National Highways (NH) in the months preceding the killings. Sources said the NHAI officials in Bastar has been issued a letter by the NIA and a detailed list is being prepared.