Jagdalpur Court Awards Death Penalty to All 10 Convicts in 2013 Jhiram Valley Maoist Attack

A special court of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh, on Wednesday awarded the death penalty to all 10 persons convicted in the 2013 Jhiram Valley Maoist attack, in which 27 people, including senior Congress leaders, were killed.

The attack took place on May 25, 2013, when a convoy of about 20 vehicles carrying Congress leaders and party workers was passing through the Jhiram Valley in Bastar district as part of the Parivartan Yatra. According to the NIA, armed cadres of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) triggered a landmine blast that blocked the route, and then opened indiscriminate fire and lobbed grenades at the vehicles.

Twenty-four people died on the spot and more than 35 were injured. Among those killed were senior Congress leaders Nand Kumar Patel, Mahendra Karma, Uday Mudaliyar and Dinesh Patel, along with 10 police personnel. Three of the injured, including former Union Minister Vidya Charan Shukla, later succumbed to their injuries, taking the death toll to 27. The attackers fled with nine AK-47 rifles, seven INSAS rifles, two SLRs, four 9-mm pistols and magazines.

The 10 convicts — Pramila Modiyam, Chaitu Lekam alias Munna, Sumitra alias Sumitra Punem Modiyam, Mukka Mandvi, Kosa Kavasi alias Kosaram, Aayata Markam, Madkami Deva, Joga Madkami, Banjami Snna alias Chamru alias Denga, and Mahadev Nag — were found guilty on September 5 after a trial in which the prosecution examined 101 witnesses.

In a release issued after the sentencing, the NIA said the court convicted them under several provisions of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, including those relating to murder, criminal conspiracy, rioting and offences against the State, besides sections of the Arms Act, 1959, the Explosive Substances Act, and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.

The agency said its investigation established that armed cadres of the CPI (Maoist), working with local committees and divisions, were part of a criminal conspiracy to attack and kill the Congress leaders and security personnel in the convoy, as part of what the organisation terms its Tactical Counter Offensive Campaign.

The NIA had chargesheeted 39 people in the case. Two top Maoist leaders who were chargesheeted, Thippiri Tirupathi alias Devuji and Barse Deva, were listed as wanted during the trial; the agency says they have surrendered recently. One accused died in judicial custody while the trial was under way.

Reacting to the sentencing, the Opposition Congress reiterated its demand for a probe into what it describes as the political conspiracy behind the attack. Former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel said on X that those who planned the killings and those who carried them out remain free, and that the party's position on the matter was unchanged.

Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai welcomed the verdict, calling it a victory for justice, and credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for efforts to curb Left-wing extremism in the country.

Under Indian law, a death sentence awarded by a trial court must be confirmed by the High Court, and convicts may also appeal against their conviction and sentence. The Supreme Court has held that the death penalty should be imposed only in the "rarest of rare" cases, where the crime is of an exceptionally grave nature.

The Jhiram Valley attack remains among the deadliest attacks on political leaders in recent Indian history. The state government had also set up a commission of inquiry to examine the circumstances of the attack, and questions raised by political parties about the scope of the investigation continue to be part of the public debate.