Survivor of Jhiram Ghati Massacre Decries NIA Verdict, Calls It a Gross Injustice

When the gunfire faded on May 25, 2013, in the dense forests of Jhiram Ghati, the survivors of that night – among them Shiv Singh Thakur – carried more than physical wounds. Decades later, the same man, still haunted by the memory, stood before reporters and declared that the recent NIA Special Court verdict left the victims “without justice”.

According to Thakur, none of the victims’ statements were ever recorded by the investigating agency. “The NIA never took our statements. No police report captured what we saw,” he said, his voice tinged with frustration. He added that even the security lapses during the Sukma programme – the very operation meant to protect the convoy – were never reflected in the official records.

The Jagdalpur court, on Saturday, convicted ten people for the attack that claimed 29 lives, including senior Congress leaders. The accused were found guilty under sections of the IPC, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Arms Act. The sentencing, however, has been deferred to September 16, leaving families in a state of uneasy anticipation.

Thakur didn’t hide his anger. “We feel these are just small‑time Naxalites being punished while the big fish – Ganesh Uike, Deva and others – were allowed to walk free, even given rehabilitation,” he alleged, pointing to what he perceives as a selective justice system.

Congress leaders, too, voiced disappointment. Umesh Patel, son of the slain leader Nand Kumar Patel, said the party welcomes the convictions but insists the broader conspiracy angle remains unaddressed. “We will take this to the Supreme Court,” he asserted.

Similarly, Tulika Karma, daughter of Mahendra Karma, condemned the verdict as incomplete. “Until the masterminds behind that brutal murder are held accountable, there can be no true justice for the 32 martyrs,” she declared.

Chhattisgarh Congress chief Deepak Baij went further, suggesting the investigation had been politicised after the BJP came to power at the Centre. “It was a supari killing, not a random attack. Yet only ten names appear in the judgment despite NIA admitting over two hundred Naxals were involved,” he claimed.

For context, the Jhiram Ghati attack unfolded when Maoist insurgents ambushed a convoy of Congress leaders returning from a ‘Parivartan Yatra’ ahead of the 2013 Assembly elections. The incident sparked outrage across the state, prompting the state police to hand the case to the NIA after accusations of security negligence.

The NIA’s charge sheet, filed in 2014, listed over a hundred witnesses and extensive documentary evidence. Yet, as Thakur and the families argue, the victims’ own voices seem conspicuously absent from the final narrative.

Whether the pending sentencing will appease the grieving families or deepen their sense of betrayal remains to be seen. For now, the survivors continue to press for a thorough probe that acknowledges their testimonies and brings every perpetrator – big or small – to account.