NIA Special Court convicts 10 accused in 2013 Jheeram Valley massacre

A Special NIA Court in Chhattisgarh’s Jagdalpur has convicted ten Maoists in the 2013 Jheeram Valley massacre in Sukma. At least 27 people, including top Congress leaders from the State, were killed in that Naxal attack.

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The ten convicted — Pramila Modiyam, Chaitu Lekam Urf 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 — are mostly either lower-ranked commanders or armed guerillas.

Arvind Choudhary, the defence lawyer for the now-convicted accused, confirmed the conviction and said that the quantum of the punishment would be pronounced by the court on September 16. He added that his clients would appeal against the conviction in the High Court.

The case pertains to one of the deadliest Maoist attacks in the country, reported on May 25, 2013, when a large group of Maoists attacked a convoy of Congress leaders, around 10km from the Darbha police station in Sukma district. The convoy was returning from Sukma after holding a Parivartan Yatra rally, a political campaign through which the party was targeting the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the Assembly polls scheduled later that year.

According to the prosecution, as the convoy reached near the Jheeram valley, cadres of CPI Maoists first triggered a landmine, creating a crater on the road. Due to the impact of the blast, vehicles of Parivartan Yatra could not proceed further and were piled on the road.

The landmine explosion followed by indiscriminate firing, grenade lobbing and targeted killing resulted in the death of 24 innocent persons and grievous Injuries to over 35 persons, some of whom died later.

Those killed included the then State Congress chief Nand Kumar Patel, former Leader of the Opposition Mahendra Karma, and former Union Minister Vidya Charan Shukla, who was injured and later succumbed to his injuries. Among them, the main target was Mr Karma, who was leading Salwa Judum, a State-backed movement against Maoist insurgency that involved arming local youths. It was later declared illegal and unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

The NIA took over the probe into the case and charged 39 cadres of the banned outfit. Barse Sukka, alias Deva — a top-ranked commander who surrendered before the Telangana Police in January this year — was then the in-charge of the Darbha Divisional Committee and was appointed the overall commander to carry out the attack by the top leadership of the banned outfit, according to the investigators.