New Delhi: On Saturday (September 5), a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Chhattisgarh’s Jagdalpur convicted all ten accused in the 2013 Jhiram Valley Maoist attack. The attack occurred on May 25, 2013, when armed Maoists ambushed the Congress’s ‘Parivartan Rally’ in Jhiram Valley in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar district.

The Maoists surrounded and opened fire on a convoy of Congress leaders. Twenty-nine people including senior Congress leaders Nand Kumar Patel (then the state party chief), his son Dinesh, former Leader of the Opposition in the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly Mahendra Karma (who was instrumental in launching counter-insurgency movement Salwa Judum), former Union Minister Vidya Charan Shukla and former MLA Uday Mudaliyar died in the attack.

More than 35 civilians and police personnel were also injured.

A press release issued by the NIA on September 5 stated that its investigation had established that armed cadres of the banned terrorist organisation CPI (Maoist), “in connivance” with local committees/divisions, were “part of a criminal conspiracy to attack and kill senior Congress leaders and security personnel” in the Parivartan Rally.

The initial trial took into account evidence provided by 101 prosecution witnesses, the NIA said. All the 10 accused have been found guilty under several sections of the Indian Penal Code (Sections 147, 148, 149, 121, 121(A), 122, 341, 302, 307, 396, 397, 427 and 120(B) ), sections 25 and 27 of the Arms Act, sections 3, 4 and 5 of the Explosive Substances Act, and sections 16, 18, 20, 38, 39 and 40 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the NIA statement said.

The persons who have been convicted are Pramila Modiyam, Chaitu Lekam (alias Munna), Sumita (alias Punem Modiyam), Mukka Mandvi, Kosa Kavasi (alias Kosaram), Aayata Markam, Madkami Deva, Joga Madkami, Banjami Sanna (alias Chamru) and Mahadev Nag.

The court will decide the quantum of their punishment on September 16.

As per a report by PTI, defence lawyer Arvind Choudhary has said they would appeal against the verdict in the high court. Guddu Kavasi, brother of Kosa Kavasi has held that both Kosa and Mandvi had been falsely implicated in the case.

“They were not there at the time of the attack. Those who were involved have surrendered and are living freely, while those who were not involved are paying the price. The families are distressed and shattered,” Hindustan Times quoted Guddu as saying.

Former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel expressed dissatisfaction at the verdict, saying that it felt that justice was “incomplete”.

In a post on social media platform X, Baghel said that “the conspiracy hatched in Jhiram Ghati was the biggest political massacre in the history of the world's democracies”, and that sentencing just 10 naxals could not be called justice when the NIA had itself stated that the attack was carried out by 200 people, and listed 39 accused.

The Congress Party and the affected families have always said that the attack was part of a larger political conspiracy and that it should be investigated. However, the NIA didn't investigate it at all, Baghel said, alleging that this happened because the BJP did not want the investigation to take place.

Until this investigation happens, justice for Jhiram will remain incomplete, Baghel said.

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