NIA arrests CPI (Maoist) member in Chhattisgarh terror funding case

Raipur, Feb 28 (IANS) The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has apprehended Raghu Midiyami, a prominent figure associated with the Moolwasi Bachao Manch (MBM), a group linked to the outlawed CPI (Maoist) organisation.

This arrest is part of an ongoing investigation into a terror funding case in Chhattisgarh, registered as RC-02/2023/NIA/RPR, the leading investigating agency has said.

The MBM has already been banned by the government of Chhattisgarh.

The case, initially handled by the Chhattisgarh Police, saw two individuals arrested and “chargesheeted” in November 2023. Authorities recovered Rs 6 lakh in cash from the suspects, who were identified as “Over Ground Workers” (OGWs) of MBM, said the agency.

The NIA took over the case in February 2024, uncovering evidence that pointed to Midiyami as the leader of MBM.

Investigations have revealed that MBM played a critical role in gathering, storing, and distributing funds to support the CPI (Maoist) agenda.

Raghu Midiyami, as per the NIA investigations, is believed to have been the key figure managing the local-level disbursement of these funds, which were used to organise and sustain protests led by the CPI (Maoist). Further investigations are continuing in the case.

Under the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act, 2005, on October 30, the state government banned the MBM for a year, eliciting criticism from activists and civil society groups that expressed solidarity with the group. The government alleged that the organisation had been “continuously opposing and instigating the general public against the developmental works” being carried out in Maoist-affected areas.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had earlier in January arrested two overground workers (OGWs) of the banned CPI (Maoist) terrorist organisation. The arrested men, Dhanesh Ram Dhruw a.k.a. Guru Jee and Ramswarup Markam, were associates of CPI (Maoist), and were actively involved in providing logistics support to the perpetrators of the IED explosion, which took place on November 17, 2023 in village Badegobra of district Gariyaband, Chhattisgarh, during the state assembly polls.

–IANS

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