NIA chargesheets key accused in Magadh zone revival case

New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has chargesheeted a key Naxal leader in the banned outfit's Magadh Zone revival case, the agency said on Saturday.

Vinod Mishra, alias Binod Kumar Mishra, a close associate of Polit Bureau Member and Chief of the North Regional Bureau of Naxal outfit Pramod Mishra, alias Sohan Da, alias Banwari Ji, alias BB Ji alias Baba, has been named in the supplementary chargesheet under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

In a statement, the NIA said its investigations have revealed that accused Vinod Mishra provided shelter and logistics support to Naxal leaders and cadres for holding meetings at his house for furtherance of their nefarious activities as part of their efforts to revive and strengthen the proscribed organisation in Magadh Zone (Gaya and Aurangabad area, Bihar).

The case (RC-26/2023/NIA) originated from the arrest of two top Naxal leaders on August 10, 2023. Various Naxal literature, handwritten letters and seven memory cards were seized from their possession at the time of their arrest. The seized memory cards contained various photographs, letters, correspondences and literature related to Naxal activities.

NIA had taken over the probe in October and had registered the case against three accused persons, including Pramod Mishra, along with accused Anil Yadav alias Ankush alias Lavkush and Vinod Mishra, besides others.
In February 2024, the agency had chargesheeted Pramod Mishra and Anil Yadav (Sub-Zonal Committee Member of the Naxal Group). Vinod Mishra, who had been evading arrest since the registration of the case, was nabbed on March 20, 2024, from Dhanbad, Jharkhand.

"Investigations have revealed that the arrested accused and others were engaged in propagating the anti-India ideology of CPI (Maoist) and were also in the process of recruiting cadres and collecting levy to further their agenda to revive the outfit in the Magadh Zone with the aim to disrupt the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India," said the NIA.