Maoist leader booked for money laundering
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a money-laundering case against a senior Maoist commander in an attempt to curb funding of Leftwing insurgents across Bihar and Jharkhand.
This development comes in the backdrop of a major crackdown by the economic intelligence agency on Kashmiri separatist groups, based on allegations that they received funds from Pakistani agencies to stoke violence in the Valley.
ED sources said a case has been registered against Sandeep Yadav, alias Badka Bhaiya, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The central zonal commander of the BiharJharkhand Special Area Committee (BJSAC), Yadav is wanted by the police in Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and Chhattisgarh.
The group is linked to the Com- munist Party of India (Maoist).
A senior ED official said Yadav was identified as the prime accused in the murder of former Gaya MP Rajesh Kumar in 2005. A resident of Baburamdih village in Bihar, he has been booked under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code, Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and Explosives Substances Act.
“We had received information that Yadav has accumulated movable and immovable assets with money obtained through illegal financial channels. The probe will focus on unearthing these channels, thereby clamping down on funding for Leftwing extremists,” a source told Hindustan Times.