Impressed by the Bihar police’s approach of hitting Maoist leaders financially by confiscating their property under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), the central government has decided to adopt it.
The ministry of home affairs (MHA) has issued directions to the chief secretaries and director generals of police (DGP) in Left Wing Extremism (LWE)-affected states — Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal — to start implementing the UAPA on Maoists.
These states have been asked to gather information about movable, immovable assets of Maoist leaders and confiscate them if they are proceeds of terror activities, or are being used to fund such activities. “Bihar CM Nitish Kumar had proposed this at a meeting of LWE-affected states chaired by the home minister a few months ago. We found out that the top Naxal leaders were amassing much wealth. We started using UAPA provisions to attach and confiscate it in May 2012. It was speeded up this year,” said DGP Abhayanand.
So far, Bihar police has seized movable property worth over `2 crore including cash, ornaments, bank deposits belonging to Maoist leaders, in 33 cases. Motorbikes, cars, tractors, cell phones and land have also been attached.
{{/usCountry}}So far, Bihar police has seized movable property worth over `2 crore including cash, ornaments, bank deposits belonging to Maoist leaders, in 33 cases. Motorbikes, cars, tractors, cell phones and land have also been attached.
{{/usCountry}}“Maoists (in Bihar) have already taken a hit in excess of `6 crore,” said an official.
The biggest seizure was in Jehanabad district on June 2, 2012, when the wife of Maoist leader Arvindji, considered in-charge of military operations in Bihar, was caught carrying `27.5 lakh in cash.