New Delhi (Agency): The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has carried out raids at eight locations in Uttar Pradesh to counter efforts by the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) to rejuvenate its activities in the state. The raids targeted premises of individuals in various districts, including Prayagraj, Chandauli, Varanasi, Deoria, and Azamgarh. During the operations, the NIA seized digital devices such as mobile phones, SIM cards, laptops, pen drives, and compact discs, as well as Maoist literature, books, pamphlets, diaries, money receipt books, and other incriminating documents.
According to an NIA spokesperson, the investigations have revealed that several front organizations and student wings have been assigned the task of recruiting and motivating members while propagating the CPI (Maoist)’s ideology with the intention of waging a war against the government of India. These groups were allegedly conspiring to commit acts of terror and violence in furtherance of their agenda.
The NIA noted that the recently arrested CPI (Maoist) Central Committee member Pramod Mishra played a leading role in mobilizing cadres and overground workers to revive the left-wing extremist organization. The arrests and investigations have also led to the discovery of arms, ammunition, and the dismantling of an illegal gun manufacturing operation. The FIR filed by the NIA names several individuals, including Manish Azad, Amita Shireen, Ritesh Vidyarthi, Soni Azad, Vishwavijay, Seema Azad, Kripa Shankar, Akanksha Azad, and Rajesh Azad, as key accused involved in furthering the CPI (Maoist)’s revival efforts.
