Baghel Renews Demand for SIT Probe into Jhiram Attack, Accuses BJP of Blocking Justice

Raipur
Marking the 12th anniversary of the Jhiram Ghati massacre, senior Congress leader and former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel renewed calls for a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the 2013 Naxal ambush that claimed the lives of several senior Congress leaders. Speaking at a memorial event at Rajiv Bhawan, Baghel alleged that successive BJP-led governments, both at the Centre and in the state, have persistently obstructed efforts to uncover the conspiracy behind the attack.

Accompanied by Leader of Opposition Dr Charandas Mahant and other party members, Baghel paid floral tributes to the martyred leaders and observed a two-minute silence. He recalled that an SIT was constituted during the previous Congress government’s tenure to investigate the larger conspiracy behind the ambush. However, he alleged that the National Investigation Agency (NIA)—which had already closed its probe in 2015 without questioning key witnesses—reactivated its investigation immediately after the SIT was announced, thereby stalling the state-led inquiry.

“The NIA refused to return the case file to the state despite repeated requests. When the High Court dismissed the agency’s stay, it moved the Supreme Court, which also rejected its plea in November 2023. The legal hurdles have been cleared—so why is the state government hesitating to restart the SIT probe?” Baghel questioned.

He urged the current BJP government in Chhattisgarh to act on complaints filed by victims’ families at Darbha police station and resume the SIT-led investigation. Baghel expressed concern that crucial witnesses, including survivors, had never been questioned by the NIA. “Twelve years later, justice remains elusive. Who is being shielded? Why has there been no transparency? These are questions that demand urgent answers,” he said.

Baghel also accused the Centre of applying double standards, pointing out that central agencies like the ED, CBI, and Income Tax Department have aggressively investigated alleged scams in the state, while simultaneously resisting a state probe into a terror attack that shook the nation’s conscience.

Echoing his sentiments, Dr Charandas Mahant called May 25 a day of deep sorrow for the Congress. He questioned the withdrawal of security for the ‘Parivartan Yatra‘ in a region known for Maoist activity, calling it either criminal negligence or part of a larger plot. “For the BJP, Jhiram might be a chapter they want to close. But for us, it is a wound that refuses to heal—a black mark on the democratic fabric of the country,” Mahant said.

Elsewhere, Chhattisgarh Congress president Deepak Baij visited the memorial site at Jhiram Valley, where the ambush took place in 2013. Paying homage to the fallen leaders, Baij called the attack a “cowardly strike on unarmed people” and reiterated that justice remains pending. He said that only a thorough and time-bound investigation can deliver justice to the families of the martyrs and restore public faith.

The Jhiram Ghati attack, which occurred on May 25, 2013, in Bastar’s Darbha Valley, led to the deaths of over 30 people, including top Congress leaders Mahendra Karma, Nand Kumar Patel, and Uday Mudliyar. Despite a decade having passed, the full truth behind the ambush remains unknown.