A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Chhattisgarh’s Jagdalpur has awarded death sentences to all 10 convicts in the 2013 Jhiram Valley Maoist attack. Twenty seven people, including senior Congress leaders Vidya Charan Shukla, Nand Kumar Patel, and Mahendra Karma, were killed in the attack on May 25, 2013.

“Today, the NIA Special Court, Jagdalpur, awarded the death penalty to all 10 convicted accused persons, having found them guilty under sections 147, 148, 149, 121, 121(A), 122, 341, 302, 307, 396, 397, 427 and 120(B) of the IPC [Indian Penal Code, 1860], sections 25 and 27 of the Arms Act [, 1959], sections 3, 4 and 5 of the Explosive Substances Act, and sections 16, 18, 20, 38, 39 and 40 of the UA (P) Act [Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967], in NIA case RC-06/2013/NIA/DLI (Jheeram Ghati Attack),” the NIA said in a release issued on Wednesday (September 16, 2026).

Guilty verdict

Earlier on September 5, the NIA court convicted 10 persons — 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 — for the killings.

During the trial, the agency informed the court that members of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) attacked a convoy of about 20 vehicles carrying Congress leaders. The attackers triggered a landmine blast that blocked the route of the vehicles participating in the Parivartan Yatra. This was followed by indiscriminate firing and grenade lobbing, resulting in 24 deaths on the spot and injuries to over 35 persons.

Senior Congress leaders Nand Kumar Patel, Mahendra Karma, Uday Mudaliyar, Dinesh Patel, and 10 police personnel were among those killed on the spot. Later, three victims, including former Union Minister V.C. Shukla, succumbed to injuries.

The attackers stole nine AK-47 rifles, seven INSAS rifles, two SLRs, four 9mm pistols and magazines before fleeing.

The NIA had filed charges against 39 people, including two top Maoist leaders, Thippiri Tirupathi alias Devuji and Barse Deva, who have surrendered recently. Although they were chargesheeted, they were listed as wanted while the trial was ongoing. The initial trial against the 10 chargesheeted persons concluded after recording evidence from 101 prosecution witnesses. One accused died in judicial custody during the trial.

“NIA’s investigation established that armed cadres of the banned terrorist organisation CPI (Maoist), in connivance with local committees and divisions, 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),” an NIA official said.

Congress protest

Opposition Congress leaders, who had earlier expressed dissatisfaction over the guilty verdict, reiterated their stance on Wednesday (September 16, 2026). They have demanded that senior Maoist leaders involved in the conspiracy behind the Jheeram attack be booked and that the political conspiracy angle be probed.

“Those who hatched the conspiracy and those who executed the massacre are still roaming free. At whose behest, one wonders, the NIA had already dropped the names of top Naxalite leaders; they were not even charged. Neither the NIA nor the commission of inquiry investigated the conspiracy. BJP leaders consistently created hurdles and prevented the investigation from taking place. There is no question of the court’s verdict altering our perspective. We still maintain that justice remains incomplete because the investigation itself was incomplete,” former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel posted on X.

Chief Minister’s reaction

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai hailed the verdict as a victory for justice and credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for eradicating Naxalism from the country.

“The death penalty handed down by the Jagdalpur NIA court to the 10 Maoists found guilty in the case is a victory for justice. The manner in which the NIA conducted this investigation should also be commended. Today, under the iron resolve and strong leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, we have liberated the State from the clutches of armed Maoism. Bastar, which suffered Maoist violence for decades, is now moving towards a new era of peace, trust, and development,” Mr. Sai said.

The Chief Minister further said that the occasion was also a time for introspection, especially for those who play “politics on the corpse of tribal communities and those who provide intellectual and ideological support to terrorism”.