The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday carried out searches on multiple locations in connection with an attack carried out by the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist) during state assembly elections of Chhattisgarh held in November last year.
The NIA team carried out extensive searches on as many as 6 locations linked to suspected Over Ground Workers (OGWs) of banned CPI Maoist in Maoist-hit Badegobra village under Mainpur police station limits of Gariyaband district, informed the agency in a press release on June 14.
Several mobile phones along with Rs 2,98,000 in cash were seized during the searches conducted by the sleuths of the agency as part of their ongoing probe in the case.
The case pertains to the attack on a poll party convey in which a head constable of Indo- Tibet Border Police (ITBP), ADHOC 615 battalion had received grave injuries in November last year.
NIA Conducts Multi-Location Searches in 2023 Assembly Poll IED Blast Case in Chhatisgarh pic.twitter.com/ZQjvv8KsU5
— NIA India (@NIA_India) June 14, 2024
The case was taken over by the premiere investigative agency in February this year which had identified cadres of the outlawed Maoist outfit as perpetrators of the attack. Further investigation in the case is being carried out.
Two security personnel injured in IED blast in Narayanpur
In another related development as many as two personnel of ITBP have been wounded after their combing party came across an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) explosion triggered by the Maoist in Kutul of Chhattisgarh on June 14.
The explosion took place between forest area of Kutul and Mohandi village under the Kohkameta police station limits of Narayanpur on Friday morning when a team of ITBP was out on an area domination exercise in the area. Among those injured is an assistant commander of the 53rd battalion of ITBP, Dharmendra Kumar and constable Narad Kumar of the same unit.
The injured personnel were immediately rushed to Narayanpur district hospital where they are being treated and reported to be out of danger. The development has been confirmed by the senior officials of the police.
The explosion carried out by the extremists has occurred amidst the ongoing offensive of the security forces in Maoist affected Bastar division of Chhattisgarh, a hotbed of Maoist insurgency since long.
According to the statistics shared by the state government, the forces during separate operations carried out in the Bastar division have so far neutralised as many as 128 cadres of the proscribed Maoist outfit in this year alone.
Other than specific operations resulted in neutralisation of the outlaws, the forces during other counter-insurgency drive have also apprehended as many as 503 Maoists during the same period.
Further the persistent operations launched by the forces have also led to the surrender of a total of 437 Maoists cadres who have joined the mainstream by parting ways with the outlawed outfit citing discrimination and disgruntlement with the Maoist ideology.
