NIA files charges against 33 Maoists in C’garh MLA’s murder

NEW DELHI: The NIA has filed a charge sheet against 33 cadres of the outlawed CPI (Maoist) for the 2019 murder of Chhattisgarh MLA Bhima Mandavi, an official said.

The charge sheet was filed on Thursday in a special NIA court in Jagdalpur under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Arms Act and the Explosive Substances Act. Of the 33 accused, six have been arrested, 22 are absconding and five have died, the official said.

The arrested persons are Madka Ram Tati, Bhima Ram Tati, Linge Tati, Laxman Jaiswal, Ramesh Kumar Kashyap and Haripal Singh Chauhan — all residents of Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada, the NIA spokesperson said.

The case relates to an IED blast followed by indiscriminate firing on April 9, 2019 near Shyamgiri village in Dantewada district in which Mandavi, the then MLA of Dantewada, was killed by the operatives of CPI (Maoist), along with four police personnel of Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF).

The arms and ammunition of the slain security personnel were also looted by the assailants.

The NIA re-registered the case on May 17, 2019. However, the actual investigation of the case could be taken over only on March 17, 2020 due to certain legal issues raised by the Chhattisgarh government, the NIA official said. With no clues available initially, breakthrough was achieved after examining several witnesses, surrendered Maoist cadres and rigorous technical analysis, the official said.