Bilaspur: The Bilaspur Circuit House today heard the Jhiram Valley attack case. The hearing reportedly lasted for only fifteen minutes and was scheduled for 7th May. Advocates Devednra Paratap and Sudeep Srivastav argued on behalf of Congrees leaders Jitendra Muralidar and Nikhil Dwivedi while the prosecution was taken over by Adv Sudip Agarwal.
After the Baghel govt in 2021, had rejected to declassify the report of the judicial commission set during the BJP govt, a two-member commission of the Justice Sunil Agnihotri and Justice Minihajuddin was constituted. The commission was instructed to submit a detailed report of the incident within 6 months of its constitution.
On May 25 in 2013, Maoists ambushed and killed 29 people, including senior leaders Nand Kumar Patel, Vidya Charan Shukla and Mahendra Karma, during a poll campaigning tour in Bastar. Congress had alleged “a bigger political conspiracy” behind the attack, demanding an independent inquiry. The case was transferred to the NIA the same year and the Congress party termed the agency’s 2016 probe report “more of a cover-up than an investigation”.