A special NIA court has delivered a major verdict in one of Chhattisgarh's most chilling cases, holding all 10 accused guilty in the Jhiram Ghati attack. The ruling has revived memories of the horrific ambush of 25 May 2013 in the Darbha area of Bastar, which claimed the lives of several senior Congress leaders and security personnel. For over a decade, the case remained one of the most sensitive investigations linked to Naxal violence in the state.
An Attack Timed Ahead of Elections
In 2013, the Chhattisgarh assembly elections were drawing near, and the state's main opposition party, Congress, was running a parivartan yatra through Bastar's remote pockets. The support the yatra was drawing had rattled the Naxalites, who were watching their grip over Bastar slip. Their strategy centred on wiping out the region's political leadership and breaking the public's faith in the electoral process itself. At the same time, leaders like Mahendra Karma were leading the Salwa Judum movement, mounting a direct challenge to Naxalite strength in the area.
An Ambush That Left No Escape
The Naxalites had already taken position in Jhiram Ghati. The moment the Congress leaders' convoy passed through, attackers armed with automatic weapons opened indiscriminate fire from all sides. To cut off any escape, they had felled trees across the road beforehand, blocking the convoy's path. The meticulously planned assault killed 27 people and left more than 15 others critically injured. In a matter of minutes, Chhattisgarh Congress's entire top leadership was wiped out.
The Leaders Who Lost Their Lives
Among those killed was Mahendra Karma, known as the Tiger of Bastar and the leading face of the Salwa Judum movement, under which tribal youths were armed to take on the Naxalites. The movement had the full backing of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Nand Kumar Patel, who was then president of the Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC), also died in the attack, along with his son Dinesh Patel. Vidya Charan Shukla, a former union minister and a heavyweight Congress leader, was critically wounded and later succumbed to his injuries during treatment. Uday Mudliyar, who had been elected MLA from Rajnandgaon multiple times, was among the senior Congress leaders who lost their lives in the ambush.
Verdict Comes After Thirteen Years
After a trial that stretched well over a decade, the special NIA court has now found all 10 accused guilty in the case. The verdict has reopened old wounds from a time when the scenic valleys of Bastar echoed with gunfire and explosions. Chhattisgarh may today be declared free of Naxalism, but the Jhiram Ghati attack remains a dark chapter in the state's political and social history, one that erased almost the entire provincial leadership of the Congress party in a single day. The case is also a reminder of how long justice can take to arrive in cases of organised Naxal violence, even when the loss of life was as devastating as it was in Jhiram Ghati.
