Raipur, Sep 16 Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Wednesday welcomed a special NIA court's decision to hand down the death penalty to all 10 convicts in the 2013 Jhiram Valley Maoist attack case, calling the verdict a "victory of justice".
However, former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, a Congressman whose party lost senior leaders in the brutal Naxal strike, termed the punishment "incomplete justice" and said those who masterminded the massacre were still at large.
A special NIA (National Investigation Agency) court in Jagdalpur, headquarters of Bastar district in southern Chhattisgarh, sentenced all the 10 convicted Maoists to death in the 13-year-old case in which 27 people, including senior Congress leaders, were killed.
The court had convicted the 10 accused, including two women, on September 5 and reserved the order on the quantum of punishment for Wednesday (September 16).
In a post on 'X', Sai said the Jhiram Valley massacre was a painful chapter in the history of Chhattisgarh and the memories of the tragedy would continue to linger and cause pain.
"We lost senior leaders of the state, security personnel and common citizens in this horrific communist violence," the BJP leader said.
"The death sentence awarded by the Jagdalpur NIA court to the 10 Maoists found guilty in the case is a victory of justice. The NIA also deserves appreciation for taking the investigation to its logical conclusion," Sai noted.
He said Chhattisgarh had been freed from armed Maoist insurgency under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and the Bastar region, once a hotbed of Left-Wing Extremism (LWE), has been moving towards a new era of peace, trust and development.
"This is also a moment for introspection, especially for those who engage in politics over the bodies of tribals and who provide intellectual and ideological support to terror. 'Urban Naxals', too, must realize the consequences of sheltering or abetting terror for vested interests are invariably catastrophic for everyone. The monster of terror battles against Indian democracy, the Constitution, and respects no ideological or territorial boundaries. Understanding this, they should desist from such activities," he said.
"I bow to the souls of all those who lost their lives in that brutal Jhiram attack. A humble tribute," the CM stated.
Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma, who holds the Home portfolio, insisted the verdict showed that the NIA investigation was conducted thoroughly.
Talking to reporters in Kawardha, Sharma said the death sentence was handed down after the court considered the evidence presented during the investigation by the anti-terror agency.
"Today, it has become clear that the NIA conducted the investigation with great effort and sincerity," he stressed.
Sharma maintained the Opposition Congress had unnecessarily tried to politicise the issue and target some people without sufficient basis.
Reacting to Baghel's criticism of the verdict, Sharma said there was no basis for his dissatisfaction.
"When Baghel was the chief minister (2018-23), he used to say he had evidence relating to the Jhiram Ghati attack in his pocket. Why did he not bring it out?," the Deputy CM asked.
"An attempt was being made to mislead people. The investigation was still going on. If you have something to say, give your statement before the NIA. Speaking at public gatherings will not achieve anything," the home minister noted.
Asked about senior Maoist leaders who had surrendered in Telangana and were allegedly involved in the Jhiram attack, Sharma said action would be taken in accordance with the government's surrender and rehabilitation policy.
"Rehabilitation policies are decisions taken by governments according to the prevailing circumstances. Those who have surrendered will be dealt with as per the applicable procedure under the surrender policy," he insisted.
Reacting to the verdict, Congress leader Baghel, in a social media post, said the punishment awarded to the "foot soldiers" of the Maoists was neither proportionate nor could it be called justice.
"Those who hatched the conspiracy and those who carried out this massacre are still roaming free," he said.
The former CM alleged that the names of senior Maoist leaders had been removed from the NIA case at an earlier stage and that they were not even charged.
"Neither the NIA nor the (state government-appointed) inquiry commission investigated the conspiracy angle," he alleged.
He further claimed BJP leaders had repeatedly obstructed the investigation.
"The question of changing our position because of the court's verdict does not arise. We still believe that justice is incomplete because the investigation is incomplete," Baghel emphasised.
Barsa Vetti, a close relative of one of the convicts, Joga Madkami, questioned why senior Maoist leaders who had surrendered and were allegedly involved in the Jhiram attack were not being questioned.
Speaking to reporters, Vetti said he was upset over the conviction of what he described as "innocent" tribals.
"Joga was a not Maoist and he had also served twice as the sarpanch of Chikpal village panchayat," he said.
Vetti claimed several Maoists from the Darbha division (of Bastar) had since surrendered and that some of those allegedly involved in the attack had either died or laid down arms.
"If those who carried out the attack have surrendered and are with the government, why is the government not investigating them?" he asked.
Jagdalpur-based social activist Bela Bhatia also questioned the verdict, calling it devoid of justice.
The Jhiram Valley attack took place on May 25, 2013, when Maoists ambushed a Congress 'Parivartan Yatra' in Bastar ahead of the Chhattisgarh Assembly elections that year.
The attack killed 27 people, including then-state Congress chief Nand Kumar Patel and his son Dinesh, former minister Mahendra Karma, ex-Union minister Vidya Charan Shukla and Congress leader Uday Mudliyar.
