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The NIA Special Court in Jagdalpur on Wednesday awarded death penalty to all 10 convicts in the Jhiram Ghati Naxal attack case. The court had found them guilty on September 5 under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Arms Act, Explosive Substances Act and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and reserved its order on the quantum of punishment.
The case relates to the planned attack by armed cadres of the proscribed organisation CPI (Maoist) on the convoy of Congress partys "Parivartan Yatra" in Jheeram Ghati, Darbha, in Bastar district of Chhattisgarh, on May 25, 2013. A NIA press release said that the Naxals had resorted to an IED blast, indiscriminate firing and grenade detonation, resulting in the on-the-spot death of 24 innocent civilians and police personnel, with more than 35 civilians and police personnel severely injured. Three of the injured later succumbed to their injuries. Cadres of CPI (Maoist) also looted arms and ammunition, walkie-talkie sets, mobile phones and other belongings from the deceased and victims. NIA filed the chargesheet (nine accused) and a supplementary chargesheet (30 accused) against a total of 39 accused persons on September 25, 2014 and September 28, 2015, respectively. The initial trial against 10 chargesheeted accused persons was completed with the recording of evidence of 101 prosecution witnesses. One arrested and chargesheeted accused died in judicial custody. NIA's investigation established that armed cadres of the banned terrorist organisation CPI (Maoist), in connivance with local committees, were part of a criminal conspiracy to attack and kill senior Congress leaders and security personnel in the convoy of the "Parivartan Yatra," in pursuance of their tactical counter offensive campaign (TCOC). Reacting to the court's verdict, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai said the death sentence awarded to the 10 convicts in the Jheeram Ghati attack case was a victory for justice. "The barbaric massacre in Jhiram Ghati is an agonising chapter in Chhattisgarh's history whose bitter memories will continue to torment us for a long time. In this heinous violence, we also lost senior leaders of the state, security personnel, and ordinary citizens. The death sentence handed down by the Jagdalpur NIA Court to the ten Maoists found guilty in the case is a victory for justice, he said in a post on X. The NIA's handling of this investigation to its conclusion also deserves commendation. Today, under the iron resolve and steadfast leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, we have freed the state from the clutches of armed Maoism. Bastar, which has endured Maoist violence for decades, is now moving forward toward a new era of peace, trust, and development," he added. The Chief Minister said this moment is also an opportunity for introspection, especially for those who engage in politics over the corpses of tribal society and those who provide intellectual and ideological support to terrorism. The intellectual Naxals should also realise that giving shelter or refuge to any terrorism for vested interests always leads to destruction for everyone. The Bhasmasur of terrorism that fights against Indian democracy and the Constitution does not respect the boundaries of any ideology or region. Understanding this, they should desist from their actions...," he said. (ANI)
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