NIA chargesheets 4 Naxal operatives in Chhattisgarh

New Delhi, Jan 3 (PTI) The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday chargesheeted four more CPI (Maoist) cadres in connection with the murder of a 'gopniya sainik' of the Bijapur district police in Chhattisgarh.

Gopniya sainiks or secret troopers are recruited by police from among local youth for intelligence gathering and to assist them in anti-Naxal operations in the Bastar region.

The four accused, identified as Raju Kursam, Sukku Kursam, Shankar Kursam and Mannu Kursam, have been charged under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in a chargesheet filed before a court in Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh, officials said.

This takes the total number of accused chargesheeted in the case to eight, with the NIA having indicted four others earlier, a statement issued by the agency said.

The victim, Chotu alias Kishan Kursam, was killed by members of the banned CPI (Maoist) terrorist organisation in December 2023 to instil fear and terror amongst the surrendered cadres and local populace.

Chotu, previously a CPI (Maoist) member, had surrendered to the Bijapur police and joined the societal mainstream as their 'gopniya sainik', the statement said.

Angry at the spate of such "defections", the CPI (Maoist) cadres in the region had warned surrendered cadres to rejoin and had conspired to eliminate those who had refused to return to the organisation and continued to work for police, it said.

The NIA, which took over the case in March 2024, is continuing with its investigation, the statement added. PTI AKV RHL