Chhattisgarh: Pain of Jhiram Naxal attack still fresh in hearts of people
May 25, 2023
By Avinash Prasad
Jagdalpur (Chhattisgarh) [India], May 25 : Ten years have passed since the 'Jhiram attack' -- one of the biggest naxal attacks in the history of Chhattisgarh as well as in India, the pain of losing loved ones is still felt by people of the state.
The unfortunate incident that took place on 25 May 2013, still hounds those who are left partially disabled after the incident or carrying bullet marks on their bodies.
With tears in their eyes and a shaky voice, Manisha Bagh demanded the statue of 'Jhiram Martyr' for her father Constable Amar Bagh, who suffered multiple bullet shots in the attack and succumbed to the injuries.
"Despite the suffering and pain we have faced and still going through after the passing away of our father, he was not given the statue of martyr till date. My father should be given the status of martyr because he died in the incident," Manisha said.
The resident of Jagdalpur, Manisha recalled that safeguarding people in the convoy and battling insurgents during the attack, her father suffered multiple bullet injuries. He was taken to a hospital. After treatment, constable Amar Bagh suffered paralysis and due to the prolonged treatment, he developed kidney problems and eventually passed away.
Notably, Manisha as well as her three sisters decided to donate their kidney to their father and took him to Hyderabad for a kidney transplant. Considering the future of all the girls, doctors advised them not to do so.
"I do not want to recall that incident but whenever there is a naxal attack in the region, it reminds me of that unfortunate day. Be it happiness or a difficult situation, we feel that emptiness," Manisha said.
In another incident, a youth identified as Manoj, a civilian who was driving a vehicle (part of the convoy of Congress's Parivartan Rally which was targeted by armed ultras at Jhiram Valley), lost his life in the incident.
Manoj's vehicle was leading the rally and it was targeted by insurgents killing the youth on the spot.
Remembering the jolly nature of Manoj, the deceased's uncle, Sevak Ram, said that the youth was the only son in their family, simple in nature and the sole earner. "Everyone misses him a lot and the entire family turns inconsolable whenever anything reminds us of him. We all are waiting for justice," Sevak Ram said.
"The intense explosion followed by indiscriminate firing, and the entire incident still gives me a chilling sensation. 10 years passed, and nothing changed, only the roads got wider. The incident still gives me sleepless nights whenever I think about it," said Rajeev Narang, another victim of the incident who suffered a bullet wound on his arm.
Narang further recalled that he as well as Gopi Motwani (who accompanied him) suffered bullet injuries in the firing and later he died.
"The investigation is going on for the last 10 years, and we are still hopeful to get justice," he added.
It may be recalled that on 25 May 2013, a group of armed naxals targeted Congress's 'Parivartan Yatra' at Jhiram Valley in Bastar leaving 32 people dead which include then chief of Congress in Chhattisgarh Nand Kumar Patel, his elder son Dinesh Patel, senior Congress leader Mahendra Karma, former union minister Vidya Charan Shukla.
