NIA arrests two Maoists over Maharashtra youth's killing

New Delhi, Dec 20 (PTI) The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested two Maoists allegedly involved in the killing of a Maharashtra youth, who they suspected was a police informer, officials said on Saturday.

Both members of the banned CPI (Maoist) terrorist organisation, the two men have been identified as Raghu alias Pratap of district Nizamabad, Telangana, and Shankar Mahaka of district Gadchiroli, Maharashtra, they said.

The victim, Dinesh Pusu Gawade, was abducted and brutally murdered by CPI (Maoist) members in November 2023 in Gadchiroli on suspicion of being a police informer and a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a statement issued by the NIA said.

The agency said the crime was committed in furtherance of the organisation's conspiracy to spread terror among local villagers and to threaten them against sharing any information regarding Naxal activities and movements with the security forces.

The NIA, which took over the investigation from Gadchiroli Police in October 2024, had earlier chargesheeted four other accused, Doba Wadde, Ravi Pallo, Sattu Mahaka, and Komati Mahaka, in the case.

Investigation in the case is continuing, and NIA is working to unearth the entire conspiracy behind the dastardly killing and to arrest the remaining absconders, the statement said. PTI AKV SKY SKY