The officials from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday arrested the State Executive Committee member of the Pragathiseela Karmika Samakya (PKS) and seized weapons, cash and incriminating material in raids across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in the Munchingputu CPI (Maoist) conspiracy case.
Multiple raids were carried out across 62 locations in the two Telugu states, leading to the arrest of one Chandra Narasimhulu, a State Executive Committee member of the PKS, from the Satya Sai district of Andhra Pradesh. Officials also seized a pistol, along with 14 rounds, from the location. Meanwhile, ₹13 lakh was seized from one of the premises in Kadapa district, while Maoist literature and documents were seized from other locations.
The extensive raids carried out on Monday covered 53 locations in the districts of Guntur, Palnadu, Vijayawada, Rajahmundry, Prakasam, Bapatla, Eluru, East Godavari, Dr B R Ambedkar Konasema, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Nellore, Tirupati, Kadapa Satya Sai, Anantapur, and Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh. While in Telangana, nine locations in the districts of Hyderabad, Mahabubnagar, Hanmakonda, Rangareddy and Adilabad were raided.
“The custodial interrogation of the accused is expected to yield further information about the conspiracy relating to the attempts of various frontal organisations to further the activities of the proscribed CPI (Maoist) outfit. The frontal organisations include Civil Liberties Committee (CLC), Amarula Bandhu Mitrula Sangham (ABMS), Chaitanya Mahila Sangham (CMS), Kula Nirmulana Porata Samithi (KNPS), Patriotic Democratic Movement (PDM), Pragathiseela Karmika Samakya (PKS), Praja Kala Mandali (PKM), Revolutionary Writers Association (RWA) or Viplava Rachaitala Sangam (VIRASAM), Human Rights Forum (HRF), Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners (CRPP) and Indian Association of Peoples Lawyers (IAPL),” said the officials.
The investigations launched by NIA so far have revealed that leaders and members of these frontal organisations were extending support to the CPI (Maoist), which was banned as a terrorist outfit in 2009. The premises raided on Monday belonged to members and cadres of the frontal organisations.
The case was initially registered by the Munchingputu Police of ASR District on November 23, 2020, based on information relating to the movement of Maoists and the transportation of Maoist literature in the Munchingput area. Police had intercepted one Pangi Naganna while he was carrying Maoist revolutionary literature books, medicines, red colour banner cloth, electrical wire bundles, batteries, and pamphlets to hand over to the Maoist cadres. A detailed interrogation of Pangi Naganna revealed that the items were handed over to him by the leaders of the frontal organisations.
On May 21, 2021, the NIA had filed a chargesheet against seven accused before the Special Court in Vijayawada. Of these seven persons, five belonged to frontal organisations, namely ABMS, CMS, PKS, PDM and PKM.
Separate teams of the National Investigation Agency conducted searches at the houses of two ‘members’ of the Chaitanya Mahila Sangham (CMS) at Prakashreddypet in Hanamkonda and Shanthamma of Paidipalli in Warangal.
According to sources, searches were also carried out at the houses of several rights activists and others at multiple locations in the State by the NIA on suspicion of being Maoist sympathisers. In September last year, the NIA sleuths searched the house of a teacher cum woman activist of the CMS in Hanamkonda. .
