NEW DELHI: National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday, January 15 arrested an absconding accused in connection with a case related to attempts of reviving activities of banned CPI (Maoist) in Magadh zone.
In an official statement issued on Thursday, the agency said that the accused identified as Chandan Kumar was nabbed in Mumbai in connection with a 2021 CPI (Maoist) conspiracy case involving attempts to re-energise the banned terrorist organisation in Magadh zone.
Kumar, a resident of Bihar’s Jehanabad district was an active member of CPI (Maoist), and was involved in raising funds along encouraging the old cadres to re-join the outfits to carry out acts of terrorism, added NIA’s statement.
NIA Nabs Absconder in CPI (Maoist) Magadh Zone Revival Conspiracy Case pic.twitter.com/UDc9MQUgH8
— NIA India (@NIA_India) January 15, 2026
The arrested accused Chandan was declared an absconder by a special NIA court of Ranchi in Jharkhand in October 2023. The court had also issued a non-bailable warrant against Chandan, after which the agency had launched a manhunt to arrest him. Chandan however evaded his arrest for around two years before being caught by the NIA’s sleuths on Thursday.
NIA had registered the case Suo moto in December 2023, against Pradyuman Sharma, a Special Area Committee Member of CPI (Maoist), along with Yogendra Ravidas, Nagendra Giri, Abhinav alias Gaurav alias Bittu and Dhananjay Paswan, an armed supplier for the banned group.
According to NIA’s investigation into the case, the accused had conspired to revive the Maoist outfit in Magadh zone. They also had raised funds for procuring arms and ammunition and training the cadres of the group in fabrication of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). The funds were raised through extortion and levy collections from contractors, and were laundered through various channels.
The agency’s investigation had further revealed that the accused had also planned to connect to the cadres and Over Ground Workers (OGWs) of the Maoist group lodging in various jails for commission of terrorist acts as part of their revival agenda.
The NIA, based on its investigation has so far chargeshheted five members of the banned group in connection with the conspiracy case.
Notably, the agency on January 13 had chargesheeted another Maoist’s operative in connection with a case related to revival of Maoist’s Northern Regional Bureau (NRB) . The accused Priyanshu Kashyap aka Rakesh aka Nilesh was charged under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
According to NIA, Kashyap, a resident of Bastar of Chhattisgarh was an active member of the proscribed outfit and was also in-charge of the outfit’s Area Cell Committee in Delhi and Sub Zonal Committee in Rohtak. He was arrested by the agency in July 2025.
The case relates to attempts by various leaders, cadres and sympathisers/OWGs of the outlawed outfit to re-energise the NRB, comprising the states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Himanchal Pradesh.
