NIA court hands death sentence to 10 Maoists in Jheeram massacre
A special court of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday sentenced 10 Maoists to death for the 2013 Jheeram Ghati massacre, in which a Congress convoy was attacked in Bastar and 29 people were killed. Special Judge Abhay Singh Rajput imposed the death penalty on all 10 of the convicted persons, including two women, on grounds of murder and criminal conspiracy.
The court convicted them on September 5, and the sentence was announced on Wednesday. Each convict was also fined `800. The death sentences will take effect only after the High Court confirms them. The convicts have 30 days to appeal and will stay in Jagdalpur Central Jail until then. The people sentenced are Pramila Modiyam, Chaitu Lekam alias Munna, Sumitra Punem Modiyam, Mukka Mandavi, Kosa Kavasi alias Kosaram, Aayata Markam, Madkami Deva, Joga Madkami, Banjami Sanna alias Chamru and Mahadev Nag. Arvind Choudhary, the defence counsel, said the defence would challenge the verdict.
On May 25, 2013, armed members of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) attacked the Congress Parivartan Yatra convoy on National Highway 221 at Jheeram Ghati. This attack involved a landmine blast followed by gunfire and a grenade attack.
The victims who died included Nand Kumar Patel, who at the time was the president of the State Congress party, and his son Dinesh, as well as Mahendra Karma, who had previously been the Leader of the Opposition and was instrumental in organising the Salwa Judum movement, Vidya Charan Shukla, who had been a Union Minister and later died from his injuries, and Uday Mudliyar, the former MLA.
Security guards and ordinary civilians were also killed, with over 30 people suffering injuries. The attack destroyed much of the Congress leadership in Chhattisgarh just before the State’s Assembly elections that year. Initially, eleven of the accused had been put on trial; one of them died during the proceedings, which lasted for a decade and included about 294 hearings, during which the evidence of 101 prosecution witnesses was heard.
The NIA took over from the State police and filed chargesheets in 2014 and 2015 against 39 people; dozens of those named in the case are still wanted. A number of the senior Maoists later surrendered or were killed in encounters. The court found the 10 convicted persons guilty under the Indian Penal Code, the Arms Act, the Explosive Substances Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. However, the families of some of the convicted have challenged the verdict, stating that the accused were elsewhere when the attack took place.