A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Jagdalpur has convicted all 10 accused in the 2013 Jhiram Valley Maoist attack, one of the deadliest assaults on Chhattisgarh’s political leadership. The attack on May 25, 2013, targeted a convoy of Congress leaders returning from the party’s Parivartan Rally in Bastar’s Jhiram Valley. Maoists ambushed the convoy within the limits of Darbha police station.
Twenty-nine people, including several senior Congress leaders, civilians and security personnel, were killed, while more than 30 others were injured. Those killed included then Chhattisgarh Congress chief Nand Kumar Patel, former Leader of Opposition Mahendra Karma and former Union minister Vidyacharan Shukla.
Special NIA Judge Abhay Singh Rajput convicted the 10 accused, including two women, defence lawyer Arvind Choudhary said. The court has reserved its decision on the quantum of punishment for September 16. The trial involved statements from 101 witnesses. Choudhary said the defence would challenge the verdict after obtaining the judgment. “We will appeal against the verdict in the higher court. We have not received the copy of the judgment yet. We will be able to give the grounds for appeal after receiving it,” he said.
The case was initially registered by Bastar Police before being transferred to the NIA days after the attack. The move came amid allegations by the Congress of security lapses by the then state government and police.
The NIA filed its chargesheet before the special court in Jagdalpur in September 2014. Investigators subsequently presented 101 witnesses and supporting documentary evidence. The probe continued for years alongside separate inquiries, including investigations by a Special Investigation Team and two judicial commissions. In 2023, the NIA issued a public appeal seeking additional information about the attack.
The case also reached the Supreme Court. In 2020, the apex court dismissed a plea by the Chhattisgarh government challenging a judicial commission’s decision not to examine additional witnesses.
