Special NIA Court Convicts 10 in 2013 Jhiram Valley Maoist Attack

A special NIA court in Chhattisgarh's Bastar district on Saturday convicted all 10 accused in the 2013 Jhiram Valley Maoist attack case, in which 29 people, including senior Congress leaders, were killed.

The attack, one of the deadliest incidents of violence linked to Left Wing Extremism, took place on May 25, 2013, when Maoists ambushed the Congress' 'Parivartan Rally' on a national highway in Jhiram Valley under the limits of Darbha police station in Bastar district.

Special judge of the National Investigation Agency court in Jagdalpur, Abhay Singh Rajput, convicted all 10 accused, including two women, defence lawyer Arvind Choudhary said. The order on the quantum of punishment has been reserved for September 16, he said, adding that statements of 101 witnesses were recorded during the trial.

"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," Choudhary said.

29 people, including Congress leaders, civilians and security personnel, were killed and more than 30 others injured in the attack, which virtually wiped out the party's top leadership in the state at the time. Those killed included then-state Congress chief Nand Kumar Patel and his son Dinesh, former leader of opposition in the Assembly Mahendra Karma, former Union minister Vidya Charan Shukla, and senior Congress leader and former MLA Uday Mudliyar.