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Congress leader and former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, along with senior party leaders, survivors and families of victims of the Jhiram Ghati Maoist attack, met Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi in Delhi and discussed the NIA court verdict in the case and the future legal course.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Baghel said the delegation held a nearly hour-long discussion with Rahul Gandhi, during which they explained the sequence of events surrounding the case, the trajectory of the NIA investigation and details of the court's verdict. Regarding the Jhiram Valley case, our in-charge, PCC Chief, our CLP leader, all senior leaders, as well as the survivors and families of the victims of the Jhiram Ghati incident, met with Rahul Gandhi. We held a detailed discussion with him, lasting nearly an hour, during which we explained the sequence of events, the trajectory of the NIA investigation, and the details of the court's verdict, Baghel said. He said the delegation conveyed that it did not consider the verdict to amount to justice and sought Rahul Gandhi's guidance on how to take the matter forward. We conveyed that the verdict did not amount to justice, and we sought Rahul Gandhi's guidance on how to take the fight forward; we will now implement that strategy, he said. Baghel added that a total of 15 people attended the meeting, and discussions also covered the future legal battle and taking the issue to the public. A total of 15 people met him. The discussion covered the future legal battle and how to take the issue to the public. Regarding the verdict, we will certainly engage senior lawyers, including those from the AICC, a decision we will finalise collectively, Baghel said. Earlier on September 16, the NIA Special Court in Jagdalpur awarded the death penalty to all 10 convicts in the Jhiram Ghati Maoist attack case. The court had convicted them on September 5 under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, Arms Act, Explosive Substances Act and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The case relates to the May 25, 2013, attack on the Congress party's Parivartan Yatra convoy at Jhiram Ghati in Darbha, Bastar district of Chhattisgarh. According to the NIA, armed cadres of the CPI (Maoist) carried out an IED blast, indiscriminate firing and grenade attacks, resulting in the on-the-spot deaths of 24 civilians and police personnel. More than 35 people were severely injured, with three of them later succumbing to their injuries. The NIA had filed chargesheets against 39 accused persons in the case. The initial trial against 10 chargesheeted accused persons was completed after recording the evidence of 101 prosecution witnesses. (ANI)
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