'BJP obstructing probe despite SC, HC dismissing NIA plea': Baghel demands SIT for Jhiram attack

Raipur: On the 12th anniversary of the Jhiram Ghati massacre, senior Congress leader and former CM Bhupesh Baghel reiterated his demand for a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the deadly 2013 Naxal attack.

The attack claimed the lives of several top Congress leaders. Speaking at a tribute event at Rajiv Bhawan, Baghel accused successive BJP govts of consistently obstructing justice and shielding the real conspirators behind the ambush. Baghel recalled that during the Congress's tenure, an SIT was formed to investigate the larger conspiracy behind the attack. However, he alleged that the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which closed its investigation in 2015 without recording statements of key victims or naming any suspects, reopened its case soon after the SIT was formed, effectively stalling the state probe.

"The NIA repeatedly refused to hand over the case file to the state despite multiple requests. Even when the HC dismissed the stay obtained by the NIA, the agency went to the Supreme Court, which also rejected their plea on Nov 21, 2023. Now that the legal roadblocks are gone, what is stopping the state govt from moving forward with the SIT probe?" Baghel questioned.

He urged the current BJP-led state govt to immediately initiate the SIT investigation based on the complaints lodged by victim families at Darbha police station, asserting that justice delayed is justice denied. "Twelve years have passed, and yet the victims' families continue to wait for answers. Who is being protected? Why were the injured never questioned? The secrecy around the investigation points to a deeper conspiracy," he alleged.

LoP Mahant echoed Baghel's sentiments, calling the Jhiram attack an unhealed wound for the Congress. He questioned the withdrawal of security for the Congress's ‘Parivartan Yatra' in a known Naxal stronghold and said the incident remains a blot on Indian democracy.