Bastar: A special NIA court has convicted all 10 accused in the 2013 Jhiram Ghati Naxal attack in Chhattisgarh, which decimated the state’s Congress leadership. The quantum of sentence will be pronounced on September 16, defence counsel Arvind Choudhari confirmed.
The convicted are Pramila Modiyam, Chaitu Lekam alias Munna, Sumitra Punem Modiyam, Mukka Mandvi, Kosa Kavasi alias Kosaram, Aayata Markam, Madkami Deva, Joga Madkami, Banjami Anna alias Chamru alias Denga and Mahadev Nag.
The attack took place on May 25, 2013, when Congress leaders were returning from a ‘Parivartan rally’ in Bastar’s Jhiram Ghati ahead of the Assembly elections.
Around 250 Maoists reportedly ambushed the convoy after triggering a landmine, followed by firing and grenade attacks.
Twenty-four people were killed at the spot and more than 35 injured, with several later succumbing. Among the 11 senior Congress leaders killed were Nand Kumar Patel, Dinesh Patel, Mahendra Karma, V.C. Shukla, Uday Mudliyar and Yogendra Sharma.
The NIA took over the probe and filed a chargesheet in 2014 against Maoist cadres. Investigators later identified Madkami Deva as the alleged overall commander.
A judicial inquiry and a state SIT were also constituted. The inquiry report submitted in 2021 remains tied up in a legal dispute after the High Court stayed a subsequent government notification in 2022.
