Nearly 13 years after the deadly 2013 ambush, court delivers major verdict in case that claimed 32 lives, including senior Congress leaders
TFP Bureau, Raipur, September 5, 2026: A special NIA court has convicted 10 people in connection with the Jhiram Valley Naxal attack, one of the most devastating Maoist attacks in Chhattisgarh’s history. The verdict comes nearly 13 years after the deadly ambush that shook the state and claimed the lives of several prominent political leaders.
The attack took place on May 25, 2013, when Maoists targeted the convoy of the Congress party’s Parivartan Yatra in the Jhiram Valley area of Darbha while it was returning from Sukma. A total of 32 people were killed in the attack.
Among those who lost their lives were then Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee president Nand Kumar Patel, his son Dinesh Patel, former Union Minister Vidya Charan Shukla and former Leader of Opposition Mahendra Karma.
10 Convicted
The NIA court convicted the following accused in the case:
- Pramila Kodiyam alias Jyoti
- Banjami alias Sanna
- Ayata Markam
- Mukka Mandavi
- Markami Deva
- Kawasi Kosa
- Chautu alias Munna
- Kosa Kawasi
- Mahadev Nag
- Sumitra
One of the individuals named in the case had died during the intervening period.
The Jhiram Valley attack had a profound impact on Chhattisgarh’s political and security landscape. The large-scale ambush on the political convoy resulted in the deaths of senior leaders and workers and became one of the most significant Naxal attacks in the state.
The court’s verdict marks a major development in the long-running case and brings a significant legal chapter in the Jhiram Valley attack to a close.
