New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday searched multiple locations in Jharkhand’s Bokaro district in connection with the February 2024 attack on security forces by cadres of the banned CPI (Maoist) terrorist organisation.
NIA teams conducted searches at the premises of suspects and over ground workers (OGWs) at eight locations, and seized digital devices such as laptop, mobile phones and memory cards, along with SIM cards, pocket diaries and incriminating documents.
The suspects/OGWs whose premises were searched were associated with members of CPI (Maoist) and used to provide logistical support and facilitate extortion of levy money, as per NIA investigations.
The case relates to the unlawful activities of leaders/cadres of CPI (Maoist) and the attack unleashed by the outfit on security forces in the forest area of PS Chatro-Chatti, Bokaro.
On the day of the incident, commanders of the banned organisation had camped in the forest area (Sundari Pahari) along with 15-20 Naxal cadres to conspire to commit crime, recruit youth and collect levy, and attack security forces.
Acting on inputs received, a team of Jharkhand Police and CRPF had initiated a search and combing operation, during which the Maoists had started firing indiscriminately. The security forces had opened retaliatory fire but, taking advantage of the thick forest and bushes, the extremists had managed to escape.
The search operation had, however, led to the recovery of digital devices, Naxal literature, and other incriminating articles by the local police, which registered the initial case under various sections of IPC, Arms Act, Explosive Substances Act, CLA Act and UA(P) Act. The NIA took over the investigation and re-registered the case in June 2024. The agency is continuing with its probe.
Key accused in Jharkhand CPI (Maoist) conspiracy case arrested
The agency during the raids has arrested a key accused in a Jharkhand CPI (Maoist) conspiracy case. According to a press release issued, Bachha Singh aka Bachha Babu Singh, a resident of Govindpur(B) in district Bokaro, Jharkhand, was apprehended by NIA on Friday. He was named as an accused in the FIR registered against him.
The case, which was transferred to NIA from the Anandpur police in August 2023, involves relevant sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UA (P) Act) and the Criminal Law Amendment (CLA) Act.
During the investigation, NIA found that Singh, the Secretary of the Majdoor Sanghatan Samiti (MSS), a group currently banned by the Jharkhand State Government under the CLA Act, was actively involved with the proscribed terrorist organization CPI (Maoist).
Singh played a crucial role in collecting funds to promote the outfit’s ideology and bolster its activities across Jharkhand and other regions.
The case was initially registered by local police in July 2022 following the arrest of three CPI (Maoist) cadres in Chaibasa district, Jharkhand.
The arrested individuals were en route to meet Misir Besra, a Polit Bureau member of CPI (Maoist), to deliver letters written by Maoists Lajim Ansari and Saurabh. Investigations in the case are ongoing.
Earlier, in a breakthrough in the Bijoy Bhunia abduction and murder case in West Bengal, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested an absconding accused from Maharashtra’s Pune.
Mohan Mondal was nabbed by NIA on Thursday in connection with the May 2023 case, said the agency. Bijoy Krishna Bhunia was kidnapped and killed in Goramahal village in Moyna in Purba Medinipur district of West Bengal. Mohan Mandal had non-bailable warrants issued against him after he had absconded.
He is the third accused to be arrested in the case, with two others, identified as Naba Kumar Mondal and Suvendu Bhowmick, having been arrested earlier. NIA had registered the case after taking over the investigation from the Moyna police on the directions of the High Court of Calcutta vide order dated 5th April 2024. (ANI)
