Dedicated NIA wing to probe terror funding, money laundering by Naxals
NEW DELHI: A dedicated wing is being set up in the NIA to go after Naxal leaders and their sympathisers, who are allegedly involved in largescale money laundering and spending huge amounts in the higher education of their children, officials have said.
The Home Ministry recently gave its approval for setting up the dedicated wing in the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for the task.
The move came following the NIA'S extensive terror-funding probe against Kashmiri separatists, during which the central probe agency arrested several leaders of the Hurriyat and their kin, including the son of Hizbul Mujahideen chief Sayed Salahuddin and the son-in-law of hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani.
"A dedicated wing of the NIA is coming up to take up the terror funding and money laundering cases of the Naxals. The home ministry has given the necessary approval for it," a Home Ministry official said.
The NIA will go after the Naxal leaders and their sympathisers who are involved in all such cases, the official said.
In February, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) attached properties worth Rs 86 lakh of a Jharkhand-based Maoist commander, Sandeep Yadav.
It also attached assets worth Rs 68 lakh of two senior Maoist leaders -- Bihar-based brothers Pradumn Sharma and Pramod Sharma -- in connection with a money-laundering probe against them.
Pradumn has several aliases such as Kundan Ji, Lulha, Saket, Anish Ji and is in charge of the Magadh zone special area committee of Bihar-jharkhand of Naxalites.
Pramod, having aliases such as Prabhakar Ji and Pramod Singh, is the secretary of Banawar sub-area zonal committee of the CPI (Maoist).
The investigation has found that proceeds of crime have been utilised by Pradumn and Pramod to make huge expenses towards the admission of Pramod's daughter in a medical college and coaching of their son and daughter at coaching institutes in Kota and Patna, an official said requesting anonymity.
The Maoists are known for often blowing up schools or hampering spread of educational institutions in its area of influence but for the education of their children, they are spending in lakhs of rupees, the official said.
There have been allegations against several contractors who are collecting levy and laundering it on behalf of Naxal leaders in Jharkhand, Bihar and Chhattisgarh.
All these cases may be taken over by the NIA and probed as terror funding and money laundering, the official said.
As many as 90 districts in 10 states -- Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh -- are hit by Left Wing Extremism.
The geographical spread of the Left Wing Extremism has shrunk significantly in the last four years due to a multipronged strategy involving security- and developmentrelated measures.
The significant features of the anti-naxal policy were zero tolerance towards violence coupled with a big push to development activities so that the benefits of new roads, bridges, telephone towers reach the poor and the vulnerable in the affected areas, another official said. PURNEA: Four people were killed today when two trucks collided on National Highway 57 in Bihar's Purnea district.
All four of them - two drivers and two cleaners - died on the spot, Sub-divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Raj Kumar Shah said. Three people have been identified so far, while the details of the fourth person are yet to be ascertained, Shah said. NEW DELHI: The Home Ministry has projected a budgetary requirement of more than Rs 3,50,000 crore for internal security, mordernisation of police forces and other related responsibilities during 2020-25.
This was conveyed by Home Minister Rajnath Singh to Chairman of the 15th Finance Commission N K Singh here recently, officials said today.
The ministry has projected budgetary requirement of more than Rs 3,50,000 crore for the period 2020-2025 for internal security, central armed police forces, police modernisation, border security, disaster management and Union Territories, a ministry official said.
A detailed memorandum will be submitted to the Finance Commission later.
A presentation was made during the meeting which stressed that the responsibilities of the Home Ministry have increased manifold that include diverse and varied internal security challenges, even though public order and police are constitutional responsibilities of state governments.
The capabilities of states alone are not adequate to meet the threats of insurgency and terrorism which have national and international links, the official said.
The home minister has pointed out that his ministry also has other challenges that include improving sense of security amongst the public, making vulnerable sections such as women and children safer, improving effectiveness of police, meeting cyber threats, providing immediate relief and rehabilitation during natural disasters etc.
He said due to concerted and coordinated efforts of the central government and the state governments, there has been a significant and steady improvement in the overall security situation in the hinterland, in the Northeastern states and in the areas affected by Left-wing Extremism.
The Home minister said relentless efforts are needed to be made continuously in order to consolidate the gains and spread successes in the new areas.
The Finance Commission was briefed about the various schemes being implemented by the Home Ministry, which require continued capital expenditure such as modernisation of police forces, Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS), immigration, visa, Foreigners Registration and Tracking (IVFRT), coastal security, border infrastructure, integrated check posts, another official said. The commission was conveyed that further capital investment is also required to make appropriate use of new technologies for cyber security, border management etc, the official said.