NIA conducts multi-state raids to check revival of Naxal ideology

New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday searched multiple locations across Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh, as part of its efforts to scuttle the attempts of the banned CPI (Maoist) to revive its presence, according to an official statement.

Nine locations, linked with various accused and suspects, were searched as part of the crackdown, it said.

Four of these were in Punjab, two each in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, and one in Delhi, said the statement issued by the NIA.

All these states, along with Himachal Pradesh, constitute the National Regional Bureau (NRB), which the terrorist organisation is aggressively targeting in a bid to re-energise itself, NIA said.

Several digital devices such as laptop, mobile phones, pen drives, compact discs, hard drive, memory cards, SIM cards, and pocket diaries were seized during the searches conducted at the premises of suspects believed to be close aides of several accused in the current case. The suspects, the agency said, were receiving funds for propagation of CPI (Maoist) ideology from the erstwhile Eastern Regional Bureau (ERB) head Prashant Bose, NIA investigations have revealed.

The ERB, particularly Jharkhand, had been funding the suspects, believed to be long-time associates and overground workers of the accused, to recruit cadres and raise the organisation in the northern states, the NIA said.

The NIA investigations have also led to the identification of several front organisations and student wings tasked to identify suitable persons to work as underground cadres, to wage a war against the government of India and to carry out violent terrorist acts as per the ideology of the proscribed outfit, it added.