NIA files chargesheet against three CPI (Maoist) operatives in Jharkhand terror case

NIA has filed a supplementary chargesheet against three CPI (Maoist) operatives in a 2023 terror case in Jharkhand's Giridih. The accused were involved in extortion, recruitment, and armed threats as part of a Maoist conspiracy.

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New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday filed a supplementary chargesheet against three active operatives of the banned CPI (Maoist) in connection with a 2023 terrorist conspiracy case registered in Jharkhand's Giridih district.

The chargesheet, submitted before the NIA Special Court in Ranchi, names Krishna Hansda alias Saurav Da alias Avinash Da, a Regional Committee Member of the CPI (Maoist); Abhijit Korah alias Matla Korah alias Sunil Korah, an armed cadre of the group; and Ramdayal Mahto alias Nilesh Da alias Bachchan Da, who was part of the outfit's Special Area Committee.

Hansda, who had been previously chargesheeted by Jharkhand Police, has now been additionally charged under multiple sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UA(P)A), including Sections 17, 18, 18A, 18B, 20, 21, 38, 39 and 40, as well as Section 25(6) of the Arms Act, 1959.

Korah and Mahto have also been booked under various provisions of the IPC for criminal conspiracy, extortion and threats (Sections 120B r/w 121A, 386, 387), along with Sections 13, 17, 18, 20, 38, 39, 40 of the UA(P)A and Section 17 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1908.

According to the NIA, the trio were part of a larger Maoist conspiracy operating in the Parasnath region of Giridih, aimed at raising funds through extortion, intimidating locals through armed threats, and forcibly recruiting cadres into the outfit.

The case originally came to light in January 2023 with the arrest of Krishna Hansda from the Lucio Forest area under the Dumri police station limits in Giridih. The local police had recovered levy money, a 7.65 mm bore pistol, and various incriminating documents from his possession.

Following the arrest, the Jharkhand Police registered an FIR naming Hansda, Korah, Mahto and other unidentified individuals, and later filed a chargesheet against Hansda. The NIA took over the case in June 2023.

Further investigation by the NIA into the broader network and activities of the accused is still ongoing.