Sindhupalchowk, April 25:

The number of civilian deaths in Maoist attack on Chautara reached three with the finding of two more bodies from the hospital which was used by the Maoists as a hiding place for the attack.

A patient and his attendant were killed when the district hospital was devastated in the attack. Dammar Bahadur Shrestha (20) of Kadambas VDC-9, who was admitted to the hospital on Sunday for typhoid treatment, and his father Surya Bahadur Shrestha (62), were found dead on the hospital beds by the security men today when the latter were trying to defuse the bombs left by the Maoists.

During the attack, the Maoists had forced 11 patients to move to the maternity ward, said ANM of the hospital, Bimala Napit, who was on duty on Sunday night. On Monday, security men had rescued two patients, Bhakta Bahadur Shrestha and Nir Bahadur Thapamagar and two attendants, who were trapped under the debris, and sent them to Kathmandu for treatment, said Chautara-based Naya Srinath battalion of the RNA.

As the hospital has been devastated in the attack, patients are being treated in the open, head of the hospital, Dr Nanda Lal Sikarmi, said. The Maoists had bombed the hospital building, said RNA’s Captain Dhan Bahadur Aer.

Meanwhile, rights activists and journalists have flayed the Maoists for using houses of general public and the hospital for attack. They urged the Maoists to release a staffer of the National Investigation Department, Om Thapa, whom they have abducted. Thapa’s wife, Sita, appealed to the journalists and rights activists to take action for the safe release of her husband.