Raipur: After the Chhattisgarh HC on Thursday rejected NIA’s plea, to quash or transfer the probe in the second FIR in connection with Maoist’s attack in Jhiram valley, a two-member judicial inquiry committee was constituted. The committee is headed by Justice Shah K Agnihotri and Member justice G Minhajuddin former judge Bilaspur HC.
The constitution of the special committee came on lines of the notice issued by Additional District Magistrate, CG govt, Gen Administration Department on February 11, 2022.
The HC on Wednesday paved the way for the probe into the second FIR lodged by son of Congress leader late Uday Mudliar, who died in the Maoist attack in 2013 along with 29 others. NIA had moved the HC after a special NIA court in Jagdalpur had rejected its plea.
The incident took a political turn today after, former minister and BJP MLA Ajay Chandraker took to Twitter demanding the resignation of CM himself and Minister Kawai Lakhma, who are amongst those to be interrogated in the case.
On May 25, 2013, Maoists ambushed and killed 29 including senior leaders Nand Kumar Patel, Vidya Charan Shukla and Mahendra Karma, during a poll campaigning tour in Bastar. The 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”.
Several standoffs between the state police and the central investigating agency were seen in 2018 when Congress came to power.