Lucknow Following the recent arrests of several sympathisers and fundraisers associated with the Naxal movement in Bihar, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday said that according to its investigations, several frontal organisations and students’ wings have been tasked to motivate and recruit cadres and propagate the ideology of banned CPI (Maoist) in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh with the intent of waging a war against the Union government.
According to NIA officials, these organisations have been conspiring to commit acts of terror and violence in pursuit of their agenda. Their investigations have identified Pramod Mishra as the leader of these cadres, sympathisers, and Over Ground Workers (OGWs) associated with CPI (Maoist), aiming to revive the terror organisation. On Tuesday, raids were carried out at the premises of these cadres and OGWs across eight locations in five districts of Uttar Pradesh.
During these raids, NIA personnel recovered several digital devices, including mobile phones, laptops, pen drives, compact discs, and memory cards, along with SIM cards, Naxal literature, books, pamphlets, pocket diaries, money receipt books, and other incriminating documents. These operations took place in Prayagraj, Chandauli, Varanasi, Deoria, and Azamgarh districts, said the NIA in a press note it shared with media.
Officials emphasised that the crackdown is aimed at thwarting the efforts of CPI (Maoist) leaders and cadres to revive the banned terror organisation through raids across Uttar Pradesh. They revealed that the Bihar Police had previously arrested Rohit Vidyarthi, the brother of Ritesh Vidyarthi, whose wife was named in the FIR relating to Naxal activity in Bihar last month. Rohit’s interrogation led to the arrest of Pramod Mishra, a core committee member and in-charge of the NRB (Northern Regional Bureau) of CPI (Maoist).
{{/usCountry}}Officials emphasised that the crackdown is aimed at thwarting the efforts of CPI (Maoist) leaders and cadres to revive the banned terror organisation through raids across Uttar Pradesh. They revealed that the Bihar Police had previously arrested Rohit Vidyarthi, the brother of Ritesh Vidyarthi, whose wife was named in the FIR relating to Naxal activity in Bihar last month. Rohit’s interrogation led to the arrest of Pramod Mishra, a core committee member and in-charge of the NRB (Northern Regional Bureau) of CPI (Maoist).
{{/usCountry}}The Bihar Police also uncovered arms, ammunition, and a gun factory involved in the production of weapon parts and assembly of country-made weapons in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh following these arrests. The NIA had previously registered an FIR in connection with the case, naming Manish Azad and Ritesh Vidyarthi as accused, along with their associates -- including People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) state president Seema Azad, her husband Vishwa Vijay, Amita Shireen, Kripa Shankar, Ritesh Vidyarthi’s wife Soni Azad, Akanksha Azad, and Rajesh Azad -- as key individuals working to further the revival attempts of CPI (Maoist).