The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested a State Executive committee member of the Pragathiseela Karmika Samakya (PKS) , a frontal outfit of the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist) (CPI), on October 2.
Chandra Narasimhulu, a State Executive committee member of the PKS was arrested from Satya Sai district of Andhra Pradesh. He was apprehended during raids conducted by the federal agency on as many as 62 locations in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
According to the reports, the federal agency conducted raids at as many as 53 locations in Andhra Pradesh and 9 in Telangana and seized arms and ammunition along with literature and documents pertaining to the banned Maoist outfit.
The raids were conducted in Vijayawada, Rajahmundry, Prakasam, Eluru, East Godavari D R Ambedkar Konaseema, Visakhapatnam, Nellore, Tirupati, Kurnool separate locations at Hyderabad, Mahbub Nagar, Hanumakonda, and others were also raided in Telangana.
During the raids the NIA seized a pistol, 14 rounds of ammunition along with Rs 13 lakh in cash from one of the premises in Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh. Providing the details about the raids, the federal agency in a statement informed that the arrested accused’s custodial interrogation is expected to yield further information about the conspiracy relating to the attempts of various frontal organisations to further the activities of the proscribed outfit CPI (Maoist).
Further while enlisting the frontal organisations of the Maoist outfit, NIA release revealed that the list include Chaitanya Mahila Sangham (CMS), Amarula Bandhu Mitrula Sangham (ABMS), Civil Liberties Committee (CLC), Kula Nirmulana Porata Samathi (KNPS), Patriotic Democratic Movement (PDM), Praja Kala Mandali (PKM), Revolutionary Writers Association (RWA) or Viplava Rachaital Sangam (VIRASAM), Human Rights Forum, Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners (CRPP) and Indian Association of People Lawyers (IAPL).
NIA Investigation has so far revealed that these frontal organisations have been working to benefit the cause of the outlawed CPI Maoist and the members of the former are extending support to the Maoist outfit.
The raids were conducted in connection with the Munching Paru CPI Maoist case, initially registered by the police in November 2020. Earlier the police had intercepted one Pangi Naganna when he was carrying banners, medicines, literature and explosives. Later during the course of Interrogation Naganna confessed that the materials he was carrying were provided to him by the members of the frontal organisations. On the basis of police investigation the federal agency had re-registered the case on May 21 in the year 2021.
Raids and arrest of CPI Maoist cadres in Uttar Pradesh
It is to be noted that while the security forces in Maoist affected regions have been running continuous search operations against the Maoist, the other security agencies such as NIA and counter insurgency specialized units of various states have been running specific operations to nab the Over Ground Workers (OWG) of the Maoist outfit.
Earlier In a major crackdown against the Maoist, the Uttar Pradesh (UP) Anti Terror Squad (ATS) nabbed as many as five active cadres of the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist) from Basantpur village under Sahatwar police station, a bordering region under the Ballia August 16.
The arrest of the Maoist from the Purvanchal region which is otherwise considered free from the left wing insurgency had stormed the police department as it’s been revealed that the arrested cadres were indulged in augmenting the footprints of the proscribed group in the region by recruiting youths from Ballia and adjoining regions.
As per the information received, a team of the UP ATS raided and apprehended notorious female Maoist cadre Tara Devi alias Manju alias Manisha alongside arresting Lallu Ram, Satyaprakash, Ram Murat and Vinod Sahni. The ATS team also recovered a 9mm pistol, cartridges and extremist communist literature from the possession of the accused.
Briefing the media, Special DG (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar said that the group was working to recruit the youth, their group’s expansion and conspiring to spread unrest in the country. He said that after the demise of the Central Committee member Sandeep Yadav Aka Badka Bhaiya, one Pramod Mishra formed a separate ad hoc group along with Santosh Verma, a resident of Ballia as its secretary.
It’s been reported that the said group regularly keeps moving in different districts of eastern Uttar Pradesh and was recruiting young men and women by brainwashing them for an armed rebellion against the Government of India.
Tara Devi alias Manisha
One of the arrested cadres, Tara Devi was reported to be the head of the women’s wing in the outfit who was indulged in recruiting youths and extorting money for the banned outfit. Tara is considered as a seasoned Maoist who was also involved in the infamous Madhuban dacoity case carried out by the cadres of outlawed CPI Maoist in which two policemen were killed.
She was associated with the Maoist group since 2005 and reported to be trained in Jungle warfare. She had been providing shelter to the senior Maoist leader Pramod Mishra alongside organising party membership drives and raising money for the proscribed outfit.
Arrest of Pramod Mishra
It is to be noted that the arrest of the Maoist from Ballia occurred days after another senior member of the outlawed CPI Maoist, Pramod Mishra was arrested in a swift operation launched by a joint team of Bihar police in Gaya district on August 10. Mishra, a member of the central committee of the outlawed outfit was arrested along with his associate Anil Yadav from Tikari Subdivision of Gaya.
After the arrest of Mishra it was revealed that he was working as the bureau chief of the Eastern Regional Bureau of the outlawed CPI Maoist and was assigned with the task of reviving the Maoist insurgency in the Bihar and Jharkhand region.
Mishra joined the left wing insurgency in 90s and rose to the ranks in the erstwhile Maoist Communist Centre (MCC), a far left extremist group responsible for wide scale violence, operating mainly in undivided Bihar. After the merger of the group with the People’s War Group in 2004, Mishra was promoted as a central committee member of the newly formed CPI Maoist.
