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A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar district on Saturday convicted all 10 accused in the 2013 Jhiram Valley Maoist attack case, in which 29 people, including senior Congress leaders, were killed.

The attack, one of the deadliest incidents of Left Wing Extremism-related violence, took place on May 25, 2013, when Maoists ambushed the Congress’ ‘Parivartan Rally’ on a national highway in Jhiram Valley, under the jurisdiction of Darbha police station in Bastar district.

Special Judge of the NIA court in Jagdalpur, Abhay Singh Rajput, convicted all 10 accused, including two women, defence lawyer Arvind Choudhary said.

Punishment Order On September 16

The court has reserved its order on the quantum of punishment for September 16. During the trial, statements of 101 witnesses were recorded, Choudhary said.

The defence lawyer said the accused would challenge the verdict in a higher court.

“We will appeal against the verdict in the higher court. We have not received the copy of the judgment yet. We will be able to give the grounds for appeal after receiving it,” Choudhary said.

29 Killed In Jhiram Valley Attack

Twenty-nine people, including Congress leaders, civilians and security personnel, were killed and more than 30 others were injured in the attack.

The incident virtually wiped out the Congress’ top leadership in Chhattisgarh at the time.

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Those killed included then-state Congress chief Nand Kumar Patel and his son Dinesh, former Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Mahendra Karma, former Union minister Vidya Charan Shukla, and senior Congress leader and former MLA Uday Mudliyar.