RAIPUR: A Special National Investigation Agency (NIA) Court in Jagdalpur has convicted all 10 surviving Maoists, including three women, in the 2013 Jhiram Ghati massacre case in Chhattisgarh's Bastar region.
The court found all the accused guilty for their role in the Maoist attack that killed 31 people during the Congress Party's Parivartan Yatra on May 25, 2013. The quantum of punishment will be announced on September 16. All the convicted Maoists are lodged in Jagdalpur Central Jail.
Eleven accused were originally put on trial, but one died during the proceedings. After final arguments concluded on August 10, Special Judge Ajay Singh Rajput reserved the verdict and delivered the judgment on Saturday.
The prosecution examined 101 witnesses and presented forensic and documentary evidence during the trial. Defence counsel Arvind Choudhary said the convicted accused would appeal against the verdict in a higher court.
The attack took place in Jhiram Valley between Darbha and Tongpal in Sukma district when a convoy of the Congress Party's Parivartan Yatra was ambushed by heavily armed Maoists while returning from a rally ahead of the Chhattisgarh Assembly elections.
Among the 31 people killed were then Chhattisgarh Congress chief Nand Kumar Patel, his son Dinesh Patel, former Union Minister Vidya Charan Shukla, senior Congress leader Mahendra Karma, former MLA Uday Mudliyar, security personnel and party workers. Another 38 people were injured.
The NIA filed its first chargesheet on September 25, 2014, against nine arrested accused. A supplementary chargesheet naming 35 accused was filed on September 28, 2015, after two more arrests. The court also noted that 33 named accused remain absconding.
The court will pronounce the sentence on September 16.