Patna: National Investigation Agency (NIA) filed a fresh chargesheet against Pramod Mishra aka Sohan Da, aka Doctor Saab aka Vanvihari aka Janardan aka Baba Ji, a key polit-bureau member of the banned CPI (Maoist), said the agency in a statement issued on Thursday evening, January 16.
In the supplementary chargesheet filed before the special NIA court, Patna, the top Maoist leader was charged under section 16, 17, 18, 20, 38, 39 and 40 of the stringent Unlawful Activities (prevention) Act, 1967 and other provisions of the IPC, added the release.
The case pertains to the recovery of AK-47 from cadres of the banned outfit in forest area of Bairiyakala village under Laukariya police station of Bagha. The agency took over the investigation from the local police in June 2023 and had already chargesheeted two other accused Ram Babu Ram alias Rajan and Rambabu Paswan alias Dhiraj.
The investigation carried by the agency has revealed that Mishra, a top cadre of the Maoist outfit was propagating the ideology of banned outfit along organizing arms and ammunition for the other accused chargesheeted in the case.
A Senior CPI (Maoist) Leader Chargesheeted in Case Related to Recovery of AK-47 from Cadres of CPI (Maoist) pic.twitter.com/eyuTsYTEww
— NIA India (@NIA_India) January 16, 2025
The investigation further disclosed that on the instruction of Mishra, both Rambabu and Dhiraj were indulged in raising funds to carry out Maoist related activities. Mishra was also involved in motivating the former cadres of the group to re-join the outfit with an intention to strike terror in masses and to threaten the unity, integrity, security and sovereignty of Bharat.
Mishra joined the Maoist Communist Centre of India (MCCI) in early 90s and rose to its ranks before the group merged with the People’s War Group to form ‘CPI (Maoist)’ in 2004. He was then promoted as a Central Committee member of the newly formed Maoist outfit.
According to information shared by the NIA, Mishra, a resident of Aurangabad district has a total of 41 cases pending against him under various police stations of Bihar, while 6 cases were registered against him in the neighboring state of Jharkhand. Most of the cases registered against Mishra are in Aurangabad and Gaya districts of Bihar.
Notably, NIA had also filed a supplementary chargesheet against Mishra and his associate Anil Yadav in connection with a plot to revive the Maoist outfit in Magadh zone of Bihar in March last year.
Conspiracy to revive Maoist activities in Magadh zone
The NIA initiated its investigation into the case in September 2023, which led to the revelation that members of the banned outfit were organising meeting with an aim of reviving the Maoist group in the Magadh region through means of levy collection, primarily from contractors, prominent business establishments, and toll plazas.
The NIA’s investigation further revealed that all the members were taking instructions from polit-bureau member Pramod Mishra, who had been directly involved in organising meetings of the active cadres while actively promoting and propagating the Maoist ideology.
The investigation into the case further unveiled that the said members were actively involved in recruitment of fresh cadres with an intention to carry out illegal and violent acts to further their unlawful and nefarious designs.
It is noteworthy that two of the said members of the group, Rohit Rai and his associate Pramod Yadav, were arrested by a joint team of Special Task Force (STF) and Aurangabad police from the outskirts of Pema village under Goh police station limits in Aurangabad in August 2023.
Days after the arrest of Rai, the Bihar police in another significant operation, arrested Pramod Mishra along with his accomplice Anil Yadav from the Tikari sub division of insurgency affected Gaya district.
Mishra’s arrests revealed that he was working as the bureau chief of the Eastern Regional Bureau of CPI (Maoist) and was assigned with the task of reviving the Maoist group in Bihar and Jharkhand.
