A convoy of senior Congress figures was ambushed on a Tuesday evening in the Jhiram Ghati valley of Chhattisgarh’s Maoist‑infested Bastar‑Sukma region, when a landmine detonated at 4:15 p.m., rupturing the highway and trapping the vehicles in a canyon of trees. The insurgents—estimated at 200 heavily‑armed Maoists—opened fire shortly after, launching a sustained volley that raged for an hour, leaving the convoy in ruins.
The attack claimed 29 lives, including former Leader of the Opposition Mahendra Karma, state chief Nand Kumar Patel, his son Dinesh, former Union Minister Vidya Charan Shukla, and former MLA Uday Mudliyar. Thirty‑five others were injured, and several security personnel and civilians perished in the chaos. The families of the slain leaders gathered at the site, clutching photographs of the victims as they waited for police and medical teams.
Investigators later said the ambush was rehearsed: a mock‑up of the valley’s terrain was built in a nearby forest, convoy speed was mapped, and a blind spot where vehicles would slow was identified. The attackers had erected a massive improvised explosive device that obliterated the highway, then blocked escape routes with felled trees and barred cellphone reception.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested eleven Maoists, including Pramila Modiyam, Chaitu Lekam, and Sumita. A special judge in Jagdalpur convicted all ten of the accused—two women—sentencing them to death on Wednesday. The sentences await approval from the high court, with a 30‑day window for appeal.
The trial, which spanned nearly thirteen years and involved 101 witnesses, highlighted the scale of the assault and the meticulous planning of the insurgents. As the high court reviews the verdict, the families of the deceased still await justice while the state grapples with the threat of renewed insurgent activity in the region.