The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed a chargesheet against two persons accused of being members of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist).
The accused have been identified as Vijay Kumar Arya and Umesh Chaudhary, residents of Bihar. They were earlier arrested by the local police, which had allegedly seized from them “levy” receipts and electronic devices containing incriminating material.
Subsequently, a case was registered against them at the Rohtas police station. The NIA took over the probe in April this year. Various provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act were invoked.
Investigations revealed that Vijay, who operated under several aliases, was a central committee member of the proscribed outfit. He, along with the other accused, had been motivating others to join the CPI (Maoist). “Accused Umesh Chaudhary had provided shelter to Vijay Kumar Arya in his house in Rohtas,” said the agency.
The “levy” receipts allegedly seized from the accused persons indicated that they had been extorting money to raise funds for the outfit.
The NIA, which functions under the Ministry of Home Affairs, is probing several cases related to the CPI (Maoist). Its special wing is pursuing 55 such cases, more than 50% of which had been registered in the past three years.
As part of a coordinated action to curb the funding to the outfit, the NIA seized assets worth ₹5 crore, while the State agencies seized properties valued ₹22 crore and the Enforcement Directorate worth ₹5 crore.
Over the past one year, the paramilitary and police forces had carried out multiple operations against the CPI (Maoist) cadre in different parts of the country, particularly in Bihar and Jharkhand.
Since 2019, there had been a dramatic decline in incidents of violence involving the outfit. The surrender of its leaders, members and activists increased by 140%, from 2,428 during the previous eight years to 5,816 in the corresponding period till May this year.
“The Maoists have been confined to a few areas and almost 90% of the violence across the country has taken place in only 25 districts,” said an official.
