Jhiram Ghati Massacre: 10 Maoists Sentenced to Death in Chhattisgarh

A special NIA court in Jagdalpur has sentenced 10 Maoists to death for their role in the 2013 Jhiram Ghati ambush in Chhattisgarh, in which 29 people, including the top rung of the state Congress leadership, were killed and 35 others injured.

The attack

The convoy of Congress leaders was returning from a Parivartan rally and was passing through the Jhiram valley in the Maoist-affected Bastar-Sukma region on a highway. Around 4.15 pm, a landmine exploded, blowing up the road and halting the convoy. A Maoist ambush team of more than 200 fighters then opened fire, with grenade explosions punctuating the gunfire. The firing continued for about an hour.

Among those killed were Mahendra Karma, former Leader of the Opposition and founder of the Salwa Judum anti-Naxal civilian movement; then state party chief Nand Kumar Patel and his son Dinesh; former Union Minister Vidya Charan Shukla, who later succumbed to gunshot wounds; and former MLA Uday Mudliyar. Several security personnel and civilians also died.

Investigators said the Maoists had planned the attack carefully. The stretch of highway was flanked by hills on both sides, leaving no escape route. A large improvised explosive device blew up the road and created a culvert, while felled trees blocked both ends of the road to prevent help from arriving. The attackers had reportedly rehearsed the ambush, building a mock-up of the Jhiram valley terrain in a nearby forest, and had mapped the convoy's speed to identify a blind spot where vehicles would slow down and there would be no cellphone connectivity.

The stated aim of the attack was to spread fear among the local population and deter people from taking part in elections.

Arrests and trial

Eleven Maoists were arrested and tried by the National Investigation Agency for their direct role in the massacre; one died as an undertrial. Those arrested included 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 trial stretched across nearly 13 years, with the prosecution examining 101 witnesses and large tranches of documents. Special Judge Abhay Singh Rajput of the Special NIA Court in Jagdalpur convicted all 10 accused, two of them women, and sentenced them to death.

The sentence can be carried out only after an order from the high court, and the convicts will remain in the central jail until then. They can appeal against the verdict in the high court within 30 days. Defence lawyer Arvind Choudhary has said they will appeal.