Hyderabad, Sept.28 : Rights activists, Adivasi organizations, and civil society leaders have demanded the immediate cancellation of the death penalty awarded to 10 Adivasi individuals in the 2013 Jhiram Ghati ambush case. A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Jagdalpur handed down capital punishment to the 10 tribal individuals on September 16, following a 13-year judicial process stemming from the deadly Maoist attack in Bastar.
Activists stated that this marks an unprecedented judicial instance where 10 individuals have been awarded death sentences together in a single case. They urged the Chhattisgarh High Court as well as the State and Central governments to intervene politically rather than legally to resolve the ongoing conflict, highlighting that local Adivasis were rounded up without proper evidence after the 2013 Maoist ambush that killed several senior Congress leaders and police personnel.
In a joint statement, representatives emphasized that after the termination of major armed conflict operations and subsequent surrenders across states, a spirit of peace and political reconciliation should prevail over retributive action. They argued that punishing surrendered or arrested local tribals causes extreme psychological distress to their families, who are already burdened under severe debt, and called for the withdrawal of cases registered against former cadres and political prisoners.
Calling upon opposition parties, legal professionals, and human rights organizations across the country, activists appealed for pro-bono legal support to appeal the verdict in higher courts. The statement was issued by democratic leaders including Devji, Sangram, Chandranna, Mainakka, Sanjeev, Muppidi Sambaiah, Damodar, Hussein, Bandi Prakash, Narahari, Noona Narsimha Reddy, and Chandu.
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