Law Kumar Mishra
Patna, June 28
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday filed its first supplementary charge-sheet in the CPI (Maoist) terror financing case for the revival of the banned outfit’s Magadh Zone of Bihar.
The charge-sheet has been filed before the NIA Special Court, Ranchi, Jharkhand against 22-year-old Abhinav @ Gaurav Kumar @ Bittu from district Aurangabad, Bihar. Abhinav, who was arrested on January 23, 2023, has been charged under various sections of IPC and UA (P) Act, 1967.
A cadre of the CPI (Maoist), Abhinav was part of the conspiracy to raise funds for the banned terrorist organisation, as per NIA investigations. He was also found to have motivated ex-cadres of CPI (Maoist) for the revival of CPI (Maoist) in Magadh Zone, and worked as a conduit between the outfit’s operatives and other stakeholders of Magadh Zone in Jharkhand and Bihar.
NIA had registered the case (RC-05/2021/NIA-RNC) suo moto after it discovered that CPI (Maoist) cadres and overground workers (OWGs) were running a terror funding network. The conspiracy was aimed at raising funds for the procurement of arms and ammunition and recruitment of new cadres, in active liaison with incarcerated Naxals and OWGs lodged in various Jails, in order to revive and strengthen Naxal activities in the Magadh region.
NIA had arrested three other accused, Tarun Kumar, Pradyuman Sharma and Anandi Paswan, along with Abhinav in the case. The agency had charge-sheeted two accused on January 20, this year.
According to NIA investigations, Pradyuman Sharma, along with others, had hatched the conspiracy and had been raising funds through various sources, including extortion of contractors, for the procurement of arms and ammunition to further their violent and subversive designs. They were also engaged in training of CPI (Maoist) cadres.
