Cong wants examination of Raman Singh, Shinde in Jhiram valley

The Chhattisgarh unit of the Congress today requested the judicial commission probing the 2013 Jhiram valley naxal attack to examine Chief Minister Raman Singh and then Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde as witnesses.
In the application filed before the commission headed by Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra, the opposition party also sought examination of then Union minister of state for home RPN Singh, and then state home minister Nankiram Kanwar.
Advocate Sudip Shrivastav, who is representing the main opposition party, said the commission has examined 66 witnesses so far.
The Congress application said that the commission has examined private persons or officials of the state police or Central Reserve Police Force, but not those who were in power and hence accountable under the Constitution, including the chief minister and home minister.

In the past, judicial commissions set up under the Commission of Inquiry Act have summoned even prime ministers, the Congress application pointed out.
Chief minister Raman Singh was the chairperson of the unified command against naxals when the incident took place, it pointed out.
State government's counsel Rajeev Shrivastava sought a a day's time to file reply, following which the commission posted the matter for hearing on February 19.
On May 25, 2013,29 people, including then state Congress chief chief Nandkumar Patel, his son Dinesh, former leader of opposition Mahendra Karma and former Union minister Vidyacharan Shukla were killed in anaxalattack in Jhiram valley in Bastar district.