NIA Conducts Multi-State Raids Linked to Top Maoist Leader, Seizes Incriminating Evidence

New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted a multi state search operation on Thursday, according to reports. The states where the NIA conducted these search operations include Telangana, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala. The cause of these raids, as per sources, is linked to a probe in a case involving a top leader from the CPI (Maoist) group. This leader was arrested by the Telangana Police in Hyderabad in September 2023.

The NIA teams searched six places. Two were in Hyderabad, and one each in Thane (Maharashtra), Chennai, Malappuram, and Palakkad (in Kerala). A spokesperson for the NIA following the raids said that they found important documents and books related to the banned CPI (Maoist) group during these searches and seized six mobile phones with SIM cards and Rs 1,37,210 in cash. The Cyberabad Police in Telangana originally filed the case after arresting Sanjay Deepak Rao, a member of the CPI (Maoist) Central Committee.

When the NIA took over the case in January 2024, they discovered that Rao was actively involved with the banned Naxal organisation in the Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka border areas. Rao directed other CPI (Maoist) members to work in urban areas of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala.

The NIA is still investigating the case. In Hyderabad, they also searched the homes of a journalist and another unidentified individual.