13 years on, 10 convicted in Jhiram Valley Maoist attack
On Saturday, a Special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh, convicted all ten people accused in the 2013 Jhiram Valley Maoist attack. This attack is considered one of the most serious incidents of left-wing extremism in the state. It happened on 25 May 2013 and led to the deaths of twenty-nine people, including senior Congress leaders Vidya Charan Shukla and Mahendra Karma. The loss of these leaders came at a crucial time, ahead of the assembly elections, and severely impacted the party’s leadership in Chhattisgarh.
Judge Ajay Singh Rajput has set the sentencing for 16 September. Defence lawyer Arvind Choudhary confirmed the convictions and said the accused will appeal in the High Court once they receive the judgment.
Originally, eleven people were on trial, but one died during the process. The ten convicted include two women, Pramila Modiyam (40) and Chaitu Lekam, as well as Sumitra Punem Modiyam, Mukka Mandavi, Kosa Kavasi, Aayata Markam, Madkami Deva, Joga Madkami, Banjami Sanna, and Mahadev Nag.
The trial lasted more than ten years and included testimony from 101 witnesses. The attack happened in the afternoon as a Congress convoy was returning from a Parivartan Rally in Sukma. The convoy was travelling on the national highway through Jhiram Valley, under the Darbha police station in Bastar district. Maoist fighters first set off a landmine that destroyed the road and blocked the vehicles. Then, they fired at the convoy, threw grenades, and targeted specific people. Witnesses said the attackers surrounded the convoy from several directions and aimed at certain leaders.
Among those killed were then-State Congress President Nand Kumar Patel and his son Dinesh, former Leader of the Opposition Mahendra Karma, former Union Minister Vidya Charan Shukla-who succumbed to injuries weeks later-and former MLA Uday Mudliyar. Security personnel, party workers, and civilians also lost their lives, with over thirty others injured. Karma, known as the Bastar Tiger and associated with the Salwa Judum movement, was identified as a primary target. Reports from the period depict cadres recognising him, assaulting him, and shooting him at close range after exchanging fire with his guards.
The massacre shocked the political establishment and occurred during a Congress campaign against the then-BJP-led government in Chhattisgarh. The operation involved approximately 200 to 250 armed cadres, some in civilian clothing, demonstrating the Maoists’ capacity for a large, coordinated ambush in Bastar’s forested terrain. This incident remains one of the most serious instances of violence against political leaders during the Naxalite-Maoist insurgency.
At first, Bastar police registered the case. Because of the seriousness of the charges and security concerns, the investigation was later handed over to the NIA.
The agency filed charge sheets against many cadres. Several senior figures involved in the plot have since died in encounters, surrendered, or are still at large. The ten people convicted are lower-ranking commanders and armed fighters who helped plan or carry out the attack.
The verdict follows a lengthy legal process. Final arguments concluded. This verdict comes after a long legal process. Final arguments ended in August 2026, and the court was first set to announce the judgment on 31 August, but it was postponed to 5 September.
The families of the victims have waited thirteen years for this outcome. Sentencing will take place on 16 September, when the prison terms will be decided. The defence plans to appeal and says it will decide on the exact reasons after reading the full written order.
The conviction does not end the larger story of the case. Questions about intelligence failures, the slow police response, and the Maoist leadership remain unanswered. Still, the court’s decision is an important legal step in this long-running case of an entire generation of leaders.
For the security forces, it serves as a reminder of the human cost associated with the Naxal insurgency in Bastar region. The next hearing will determine the prison sentences, with an appeal to follow in the High Court. The events of 25 May 2013, however, continue to occupy a prominent place in the region’s political memory.
