# Thirteen Years After the Jhiram Valley Ambush, NIA Court Convicts All 10 Accused in Congress Convoy Massacre > Thirteen years after the Jhiram Ghati ambush wiped out several top Congress leaders in Chhattisgarh, a special NIA court has now convicted all 10 accused in the case. **Type:** article · **Category:** Chhattisgarh · **Published:** 2026-09-05 · **Source:** TrendKia **Canonical:** https://trendkia.com/en/chhattisgarh/chhattisgarh-ke-jhiram-kanda-men-teraha-sala-bada-insapha-nia-korta-ne-sabhi-10-aropiyon-ko-thaharaya-doshi-28199 · **Language:** English **Tags:** Jhiram Ghati attack, Naxal attack, Mahendra Karma, Chhattisgarh Congress, NIA court verdict, Salwa Judum 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. ## What this means for you The verdict has a direct bearing on the legal and political circles still tied to the Jhiram Ghati case. - **Across India:** The conviction shows that even long-drawn Naxal violence cases can eventually reach a legal conclusion. It should reinforce public confidence in how investigating agencies and courts pursue cases in Naxal-affected regions nationwide. - **In Chhattisgarh:** Families of the Jhiram Ghati victims have finally got judicial relief after 13 years. The verdict is likely to revive political discussion within the state, and attention will now shift to the sentencing that follows. - **For the Congress party:** The ruling carries emotional weight, since the attack had wiped out almost the party's entire state-level top leadership in one stroke. It may respond with public statements or tribute events in the coming days. - **For security agencies:** The case underlines how long investigations into major Naxal attacks can take. It offers a sense of the time needed to gather evidence and bring witnesses to court in such cases. ## Questions & Answers ### 1. When did the Jhiram Ghati attack take place? The attack happened on 25 May 2013 in the Darbha area of Chhattisgarh. ### 2. How many people died in the attack? 27 people were killed and more than 15 others were critically injured. ### 3. Which senior leaders lost their lives in the attack? Congress leaders Mahendra Karma, Nand Kumar Patel, his son Dinesh Patel, Vidya Charan Shukla and Uday Mudliyar were killed in the attack. ### 4. What did the NIA special court recently rule? The court has held all 10 accused in the case guilty. ### 5. What was Mahendra Karma known for? He was the leading face of the Salwa Judum movement, which had the backing of the Bharatiya Janata Party. ### 6. Why was the attack carried out? Naxalites were unsettled by Congress's growing support in Bastar and the Salwa Judum movement ahead of the 2013 assembly elections, which led them to carry out the ambush. --- _TrendKia — Har trend, sabse pehle.. Machine-readable view; canonical HTML at the URL above._