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Jheeram Ghati attack: Chhattisgarh HC stays investigation into fresh FIR by state police
A division bench of Justice Prashant Mishra and Justice Gautam Chourdiya gave the interim order on Monday after virtually hearing a criminal appeal filed by the NIA.
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The Chhattisgarh High Court has stayed investigation into a fresh case lodged in May this year by the state police in connection with the 2013 Jheeram Ghati Maoists attack. As many as 27 people, including senior Congress leaders, were killed in the attack. The HC also sought answers from the state government within four weeks, as per the NIA’s counsel B Gopa Kumar.
A division bench of Justice Prashant Mishra and Justice Gautam Chourdiya gave the interim order on Monday after virtually hearing a criminal appeal filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Kumar told Hindustan Times
Chhattisgarh’s Deputy Advocate General Chandresh Shrivastav represented the state government.
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“The whole investigation was conducted by the NIA but a fresh FIR was registered by the state government in May which cannot be done as per the law. Hence, the NIA first went to local session court in Jagdapur which was rejected the a and a week ago we appealed before the HC,” said Kumar.
The counsel further said that the NIA argued the matter and then the court stayed the FIR and other proceedings.
“Now, the state government cannot act upon the FIR. After staying the FIR, the court sought a reply from the state government within four weeks and final arguments will be after the reply,” Kumar added.
Notably, in 2013, twenty-seven people, including senior Congress leaders Nand Kumar Patel, Mahendra Karma, Dinesh Patel and VC Shukla, were killed in an attack allegedly carried out by a group of 150 Maoists.
On May 26, 2013, the NIA registered a case on this attack and started investigating the case.
Recently, on May 25, 2020, Jitendra Mudaliyar, son of Congress leader Uday Mudaliyar, who was also killed in Darbha Valley attack (also referred to as the Jheeram Valley attack), registered an FIR in Bastar district concerning the attack on the Congress convoy.
The NIA moved an application on June 16 in Jagdalpur NIA court seeking handing over of the case registered by Mudaliyar to the NIA for further investigation but it was rejected in August.
The NIA then moved to the HC, appealing that the FIR should either be transferred to them or be quashed as two FIRs cannot be registered on the same crime.
