&w=3840&q=100)
NIA files chargesheet against five Maoist operatives in Chhattisgarh
The chargesheeted accused -- Anish Khan alias Annu Khan, Anil Kumar Netam, Jaysing Hidko, Raghvueer Jain and Shailendra Kumar Baghel alias Golu -- have been identified as Over Ground Workers (OGWs), including one supplier, for the banned terror organisation CPI (Maoist), it said.
All of them were active cadres of the Kuyemari Area Committee of the terror outfit, said the statement issued by the NIA.
The NIA in its supplementary charge sheet filed before the special court in Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh, has charged them under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, Explosives Substances Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, it said.
The counter-terror agency had earlier in August 2024 chargesheeted two armed cadres -- Vinod Awalam and Ashu Korsa -- of the CPI (Maoist).
The NIA investigations revealed that Anish Khan had supplied explosives substances to the CPI (Maoist) cadres in the forest area of Aalparas village which were later recovered.
"The other accused chargesheeted today had provided shelter and logistics support to the Maoist cadres for carrying out a fatal attack on security forces around Mujalgondi village in Kanker district," the statement said.
The investigations in the case are continuing as part of the NIA's efforts to scuttle the Maoist outfit's terror agenda, it added.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Hindustan Times
19 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
NIA court frames charges against JeI operatives, trust in fund-raising case
Special judge NIA, J&K, Sandeep Gandotra, framed charges against three individuals and an educational trust for allegedly raising and utilising funds to further the activities of the proscribed organisation Jamaat-e-Islami, Jammu and Kashmir (JeI, J&K), in violation of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967. The charges were framed in case RC-07/2022/NIA/JMU, after the NIA found prima facie material under sections 120-B of the Indian Penal Code and sections 10, 13, 20, 22-C, 38, and 39 of the UAPA. (File) The accused include Amir Mohammad Shamsi, of Rehtal village, Rajouri; Abdul Hamid Ganai, alias Abdul Hamid Fayaz, of Nadigam, Shopian; and Mushtaq Ahmad Mir, alias Mushtaq Ahmad Zargar of Thanamang, Darhal, Rajouri, presently residing in Pakistan. The fourth accused is Al-Huda Educational Trust, a Rajouri-based organisation allegedly used as a financial front for JeI. The charges were framed in case RC-07/2022/NIA/JMU, after the NIA found prima facie material under sections 120-B of the Indian Penal Code and sections 10, 13, 20, 22-C, 38, and 39 of the UAPA. As per the NIA, Amir Mohammad Shamsi, who previously served as Amir-e-Jila of JeI in Rajouri, conspired with Abdul Hamid Ganai, then Amir-e-Jamaat of JeI, J&K, to collect funds through Al-Huda Educational Trust even after JeI was declared an unlawful association in February 2019. Witness statements and financial documents revealed that Shamsi received ₹1.80 lakh from Mushtaq Ahmad Mir, a Pakistan-based terrorist affiliated with Hizbul Mujahideen (HM), and disbursed ₹1 lakh to Ganai for furtherance of separatist activities. The court noted that while disclosure statements recorded before executive magistrates were inadmissible, independent evidence—including statements of trustees and local donors under Section 164 CrPC—substantiated the prosecution's case. Advocates Syed Aqib and Adil Pandit strongly opposed the charges, arguing that no substantive material had been recovered and that confessions lacked evidentiary value under the Indian Evidence Act. However, the court held that the cumulative evidence, including Trust deeds, financial transfers, and corroborative witness testimonies, justified the framing of charges. Proceedings under Section 512 CrPC have been initiated against Mushtaq Ahmad Mir, who is absconding and believed to be operating from Pakistan.


Hindustan Times
19 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Delhi court allows Uphaar victims to assist police in prosecuting realtor in passport renewal case
NEW DELHI A Delhi court has allowed 1997 Uphaar fire tragedy victims to assist the Delhi Police in prosecuting realtor Sushil Ansal in a case accusing him of fraudulently getting his passport renewed. (Shutterstock) A Delhi court has allowed 1997 Uphaar fire tragedy victims to assist the Delhi Police in prosecuting realtor Sushil Ansal in a case accusing him of fraudulently getting his passport renewed. The order was passed by chief judicial magistrate Shriya Agrawal of the Patiala House Court on Monday, allowing a plea moved by Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT) under Section 302 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), which allows a court to grant permission—other than to a police officer below the rank of Inspector— to conduct the prosecution in a case. The section essentially ensures that a complainant could participate in the prosecution through their counsel and assist the prosecutor, representing the police. The court said, '…it is observed that the association at the instance of which, the law was set into motion in the present case ought to get a right of assisting the prosecution, to which liberty, there is no bar in law…as opposed to being given the reigns of the prosecution itself, the Association is at liberty to assist the prosecution in the present case'. Sushil Ansal, 77, one of the convicts in the case pertaining to the Uphaar fire mishap, is also accused of getting his passport renewed by concealing his criminal antecedents and not obtaining the requisite no-objection certificate from the court. Following a writ petition filed by AVUT in the Delhi High Court, a case of cheating was lodged by the Delhi Police Crime Branch in 2019. In November 2007, a decade after the tragedy that killed 59 people, a trial court convicted realty tycoons Gopal Ansal and his brother Sushil Ansal, among others, and sentenced them to two years in prison, the maximum sentence the law provides for causing death due to negligence under Section 304A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). In December 2008, the Delhi High Court upheld the conviction but reduced the sentence to one year. In February 2017, the Supreme Court directed the two of them to pay a fine of ₹30 crore each, for the construction of a trauma centre. While Sushil, who spent a little over five months in jail, was let off for the period already served on account of his age (then 77), then 68-year-old Gopal Ansal was directed to undergo one year of imprisonment. In July 2022, a Delhi court convicted the brothers in another case pertaining to the fire, related to tampering with and destroying evidence. The brothers were let off by the court in the case for the period already served by them during the pendency of the case. The case pertaining to passport forgery, where only Sushil Ansal stands as an accused, is currently at the stage of arguments on framing of charges at the Patiala House Courts. In its plea, AVUT, led by Neelam Krishnamoorthy, who lost her two children in the tragedy, represented by senior advocate Vikas Pahwa, highlighted that the victims had been at the forefront of the battle for justice and had closely tracked and assisted all hearings in the previous two cases against the Ansals. The plea also pointed out several grievances in the Delhi Police's investigation and filing of the charge sheet. Meanwhile, Sushil, through his Advocate Gautam Khazanchi, opposed the plea, stating that AVUT had no locus standi to address arguments on charge and prosecute Ansal as they were mere complainants.


Hindustan Times
19 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
NIA seizes house used in bomb-making for Pulwama attack
A two-storey house in Hajibal, Kakapora used by Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terrorists to store explosives and assemble two bombs used in the February 14, 2019 terror attack in Pulwama, in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed, is being seized by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), people familiar with the development said. In this file picture from February 14, 2019, security personnel are seen carrying out the rescue and relief works at the site of suicide bomb attack at Lathepora, Awantipora in Pulwama district of south Kashmir.(PTI FILE) The house, according to one of the people cited above, an NIA officer who did not want to be named, belongs to Shakir Bashir Magray, a local JeM operative who played a crucial role in Pulwama attack: providing his residence; checking the convoy's route; helping assemble and fit the bombs in a van; even driving the car to some distance before handing it over to the suicide bomber, Adil Ahmad Dar, on the national highway on the day of attack. Magray was arrested by NIA on February 28, 2020 -- he was the first one to be arrested in the case -- and was charged along with 18 others including JeM chief Maulana Masood Azhar, his brothers Abdul Rauf Asghar and Ammar Alvi, Azhar's nephew Mohammad Umar Farooq , who masterminded and executed the attack was killed in an encounter a month later. 'The two-storey house at Hajibal, Kakapora, which is registered in the name of Magray's grandfather, was used by Umar Farooq, his deputy for the Pulwama attack Sameer Ahmed Dar, suicide bomber Adil Ahmad Dar and Magray for storing over 200 kg of explosives, detonators, and then two bombs were assembled and fitted in a Maruti Eeco van there. Since it was used in terrorism, we are in the process of seizing it under section 25 (3) of UAPA,' said a second NIA officer, who didn't want to be named. A Honda Activa scooter, 'which was used by Shakir Magray for several days before the attack for reconnaissance of convoy route, deployment of forces in the area on the directions of Umar Farooq, is also being seized under the anti-terror law', this person added. The NIA probe in the Pulwama attack has revealed that Shakir Magray, Umar Farooq, another Pakistani IED expert Kamran Ali (killed with Farooq in the encounter), and Sameer Ahmad Dar prepared the car-borne IED at Magray's house on the intervening night of February 5 and 6 with two jerry cans having explosives weighing 160 kg and 40 kg respectively, comprising gelatin sticks, calcium-ammonium nitrate, ammonium powder and RDX. Magray was the one who modified the car for the bomb and changed its number plates, according to the first officer. He was the first person to be arrested, based on his photo recovered from Umar Farooq's phone, and he revealed the entire Pulwama conspiracy to the NIA sleuths. He disclosed that an attack on a convoy on the Jammu-Srinagar highway was first discussed in June 2018 and its actual preparation began in October that year when, upon receiving directions from Pakistan, the JeM leadership started collecting material. Throughout January 2019, Magray (now aged around 29 years), monitored the convoys passing through the national highway from his small sawmill located on Lethpora bridge, just 200m away from the blast site. Magray informed the NIA, according to the second officer, that the attack on the CRPF convoy was actually supposed to take place in the first week of February. 'However, due to weather conditions, the convoy movement suddenly stopped forcing JeM to wait till the next convoy passed from the Jammu-Srinagar highway.' The first convoy to pass that month was on February 14, the day of the attack. Magray saw the road opening party that was being deployed to assist the convoy and the terrorists then decided to carry out the attack, the officer said, adding that 'Magray drove the car till 500-600 meters before handing it over to Adil Dar' After the attack, Magray never left Pulwama and routinely went to his furniture shop. NIA recovered hundreds of video clips, voice notes and WhatsApp messages from Farooq's phone in which JeM terrorists are seen celebrating, training and practicing before they are launched into India or discussing plans, transfer of funds, etc. In a conversation with Pakistan based JeM leadership, found on the phone, Farooq even praised Shakir Magray saying he did ' what Afzal Guru did for the outfit in the Parliament attack in 2001,' said the second officer. Magray is currently lodged in a prison in J&K.