NIA files charge sheet in Maoist cadres funding case

New Delhi, Jan 22 (PTI) The NIA has filed a charge sheet in a special court in Jharkhand capital Ranchi against two accused in a case related to the funding of Maoist cadres, the agency said on Sunday.

The charge sheet was filed on January 20.

The case “pertains to a conspiracy hatched by the members of CPI (Maoist), for its revival in Magadh zone and to raise funds for the organisation”.

The probe found that “huge funds were extorted from contractors and were routed through various channels”, the federal agency said in a statement.

The National Investigation Agency registered the case “suo motu” in December 2021 and named two Jehanabad (Bihar) residents, Tarun Kumar and Pradyuman Sharma, in the charge sheet filed under various sections of the IPC and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).

“A prominent Communist Party of India (Maoist) cadre Pradyuman Sharma, along with Abhinav and others, was conspiring to revive the CPI (Maoist) organisation in the Magadh Zone.”

“In furtherance of this sinister motive, they conspired to raise funds for procurement of arms and ammunition and imparting training to Maoist cadres in the fabrication of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs)…,” the agency said.

They also raised money to liaise with incarcerated Naxals and Over Ground Workers (OGWs) in various jails for terror activities.