The trial connected with the 2013 Jhiram Ghati Maoist attack has entered its final stage, with concluding arguments scheduled before the Special National Investigation Agency court in Jagdalpur on August 10.

Government pleader Dinesh Panigrahi said the final arguments were scheduled for Monday. A judgment could follow after the arguments conclude, but no verdict had been formally announced when this report was prepared.

Attack Decimated Chhattisgarh Congress Leadership

The Maoist ambush took place on May 25, 2013, when a Congress convoy travelling through the Jhiram valley in Bastar was attacked during the party’s Parivartan Yatra.

Twenty-eight people were killed, including senior Union minister Vidya Charan Shukla, who later died from his injuries.

The convoy was first targeted with an improvised explosive device before armed Maoists opened fire.

Multiple Investigations Conducted

The attack has been examined through several processes, including an investigation by Chhattisgarh Police, an NIA investigation and a judicial commission constituted by the state government.

The case has remained politically sensitive, with the Congress repeatedly seeking a wider investigation into the circumstances surrounding the attack and possible security failures.

Monday’s proceedings are significant because they may close the trial stage of one of the most consequential Maoist-violence cases in Chhattisgarh.