NIA arrests fourth accused in CPI (Maoist) revival case in Bihar

The NIA has arrested one person in the CPI (Maoist) terror funding case in connection with efforts being made to revive the banned outfit in the Magadh zone of Bihar, an agency official said on Monday.

The arrested accused, Anandi Paswan (46), has more than five criminal cases registered against him at various police stations of Bihar, a spokesperson for the National Investigation Agency (NIA) said.

The NIA said raids conducted on the premises of Paswan, a resident of Nirakhpur village in the Kinjar area of Arwal district, led to the seizure of illegal arms and ammunition on February 12 last year.

Paswan is the fourth person to be arrested in the case, registered in 2021, related to the terror financing network being jointly operated by CPI (Maoist) cadres and overground workers (OGWs) in the Magadh region. The NIA had earlier nabbed Tarun Kumar, Pradyuman Sharma and Abhinav alias Gaurav. The agency chargesheeted two accused in the case on January 20.

”NIA investigations so far have revealed that the proscribed terrorist organisation, CPI (Maoist), was trying to raise funds for procurement of arms and ammunition and recruitment of new cadres to further its criminal and violent designs for reviving itself in the Magadh zone area.

”They were liaising with Naxals and OWGs incarcerated in various jails in order to revive and strengthen Naxal activities in this region,” the spokesperson said.

The NIA had suo-moto registered the case on December 30, 2021, and continues to investigate the matter.