New Delhi: National Investigation Ageny (NIA) has arrested a key CPI (Maoist) operative in connection with the banned outfit’s Northern Region Bureau (NRB) revival conspiracy case. The accused Priyanshu Kashyap, an original resident of Naxal-hit Bastar district was apprehended from Rohtak of Haryana on Tuesday.
Kashyap, a member of the CPI (Maoist) was active active in promoting anti-national activities as the area commander of the outlawed outfit’s NRB. The sleuths of the agency have also seized incriminating documents and digital devices from the possession of the arrested individual.
Earlier the agency had arrested another key accused Vishal Singh in connection with the case on June 22. Singh an original resident of Mathura was picked from West Delhi.
The agency had also seized devices including hard drives, pen drives and mobile phones, as well as other incriminating material during a search in the West Delhi house of the accused.
According to the investigations done by the probe agency the accused, a member of the CPI (Maoist), had delivered a drone to leaders of the banned terror outfit in Chhakarbanda/Panchrukhiya forest area of Bihar to further its violent anti-national activities.
He had also imparted technical training to other cadres of CPI (Maoist) along attending meetings with its central committee members in the deep forest areas of Bihar in 2019.
NIA in August 2024, had arrested another accused, Ajay Singhal alias Aman, in-charge of the State Organising Committee (SOC) Haryana and Punjab of CPI (Maoist).
Singhal was reported to be a frequent visitor to Bihar and Jharkhand with an aim to collect funds from now arrested Central Committee member, Pramod Mishra alias Vanbihari and Sandeep Yadav, commander/secretary of Bihar Jharkhand Special Area Committee of the outlawed Maoist outfit.
Conspiracy to revive Northern Regional Bureau of CPI [Maoist]
The case relates to the terror organisation’s conspiracy to re-energise its decrepit influence in the Northern Regional Bureau (NRB) area, comprising UP, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.
The conspiracy involves recruitment of cadres and strengthening of the organisation in the region through underground cadres working in urban areas, along with some Over Ground Workers (OGWs) operating in the guise of activists.
Several front organisations and student wings have been used to prepare the ground for promoting the conspiracy, aimed at waging war against the Government of India. They were receiving funds from the outfit’s Eastern Regional Bureau (ERB), particularly from Jharkhand.
It is worth mentioning here that the NIA raided multiple location across states as part of its efforts to unveil and scuttle a plot to revive the NRB of CPI (Maoist) in August last year.
The sleuths of the agency raided a total of nine locations across Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh and seized several digital devices such as laptops, pen drives, mobile phones, compact discs, hard drives, memory cad along with sim cards and pocket diaries from suspects alleged to be receiving funds to propagate the Maoist ideology.
According to NIA, the suspects were receiving funds for propagation of CPI (Maoist) ideology from the erstwhile Eastern Regional Bureau (ERB) head Prashant Bose (a top Maoist leader who is considered the brainchild behind the merger of two prominent Maoist group to form CPI Maoist in 2004.
The agency officials during the multi-state crackdown also raided the rented premise of a student’s union leader in Prayagraj and seized documents.
It is to be noted that the NIA is also probing a case involving a plot to revive Maoist insurgency in Purvanchal region which is part of the broader “2U region” of the outlaws encompassing parts of Uttar Pradesh and Uttar (North) Bihar.
Founded in 2004, the banned CPI (Maoist) aimed to overthrow the democratic government and replace it by Jantana Sarkar by applying various schemes including armed rebellion against the government led by its People’s Liberation Guerilla Army (PLGA) along with assistance from groups of sympathisers, OGWs associated with various front organization.
