10 convicts get death sentence in 2013 Jhiram Ghati Maoist attack that killed 27, including senior Congress leaders
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "10 convicts get death sentence in 2013 Jhiram Ghati Maoist attack that killed 27, including senior Congress leaders")
A view of the NIA special Jagdalpur Court which delivered its verdict after thirteen years of 2013 Jhiram Ghati Naxal attack. Photograph: (ANI)
A special NIA court in Jagdalpur has sentenced all 10 convicts to death in the 2013 Jhiram Ghati Maoist attack that killed 27 people, including senior Congress leaders.
A special NIA court in Jagdalpur on Wednesday (Sept 16) sentenced all 10 convicts to death in the 2013 Jhiram Ghati Maoist attack case in Chhattisgarh. The court had found all 10 accused guilty on September 5 under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, Arms Act, Explosive Substances Act and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. It pronounced the punishment on Wednesday after years of investigation and court hearings.
The attack took place on May 25, 2013, when armed cadres of the banned CPI (Maoist) attacked a Congress party convoy carrying leaders during its Parivartan Yatra in Jheeram Ghati in Bastar district.
The Maoists triggered an IED blast, opened fire and detonated grenades at the convoy, killing 24 people on the spot and injuring more than 35 civilians and police personnel, the NIA said. Three of the injured later succumbed to their injuries, taking the death toll to 27. A total of 38 people were injured in the attack.
How the Jhiram Ghati attack unfolded
The Congress convoy was travelling through Jhiram Ghati when Maoist cadres launched the attack. The NIA said the attackers were part of a criminal conspiracy involving CPI (Maoist) cadres and local committees.
The attackers also looted arms, ammunition and communication equipment after targeting the convoy.
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Those killed included senior Congress leaders Nand Kumar Patel, Mahendra Karma, Vidya Charan Shukla, Uday Mudliyar and Yogendra Sharma. Nand Kumar Patel's son Dinesh Patel was also killed in the attack.
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NIA filed chargesheets against 39 accused
The NIA filed its first chargesheet against nine accused on September 25, 2014. It later filed a supplementary chargesheet against 30 more accused on September 28, 2015, taking the total number of accused named in the chargesheets to 39.
After a lengthy trial, the special NIA court convicted 10 accused on September 5, 2026, and reserved its order on the punishment. The court sentenced all 10 to death on Wednesday.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai described the verdict as a “victory for justice” and said the Jhiram Ghati attack remains a painful chapter in the state's history.
"The barbaric massacre in Jhiram Ghati is an agonising chapter in Chhattisgarh's history whose bitter memories will continue to torment us for a long time. In this heinous violence, we also lost senior leaders of the state, security personnel, and ordinary citizens. The death sentence handed down by the Jagdalpur NIA Court to the ten Maoists found guilty in the case is a victory for justice,” he said in a post on X.
