Over 13 years after a Maoist attack on a Congress convoy left 29 people dead in Chhattisgarh’s Jhiram Ghati, a special NIA court on Saturday convicted all 10 accused in the case. Two women are among the 10 accused in the case that virtually wiped out the top Congress leadership in the state.
Who were killed in the attack?
The leaders were going for a rally organised ahead of the Chhattisgarh assembly elections later that year. The attack took place on May 25, 2013, when Maoists ambushed the Congress’ ‘Parivartan Rally’ on a national highway in Jhiram Valley under Darbha police station limits in Bastar district.
But now, family members of some of the convicts are disputing the allegations of their involvement in the deadly attack. Family members of convict Joga Markam, also known as Joga Madkami, have spoken out against the judgment, asserting that he was wrongly implicated. Similar claims were made by the kin of Kosa Kavasi. His brother Guddu Kavasi Kosa and Mukka Mandavi were falsely implicated in the case. He claimed Kosa Kavasi was involved in preparations for a family wedding when the attack took place, while Mandavi was also engaged in marriage preparations in the village.
