HYDERABAD: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) filed a chargesheet against Sanjoy Deepak Rao, a Maoist, on Monday in the special courts for NIA cases in Nampally in a case relating to a conspiracy to promote left wing extremism (LWE) in the country. The police had arrested him in September last year.
Acting on a tip off, the Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) of the Telangana police apprehended Sanjoy in Kukatpally while he was taking shelter at a pit-stop at a film editor’s residence.
Sanjoy was a Communist Party of India (Maoist) central committee member and was wanted by the NIA and the Maharashtra police and several southern states.
He was in possession of a revolver with six live rounds, a laptop, multiple fabricated Aadhaar cards and `47,500 cash when the police arrested him.
Veekshanam editor and Varavara Rao’s son-in-law N Venugopal’s house in Himayat Nagar was raided by the NIA in the first week of February in connection with the same case.
He had said that he was named as accused No. 22 in the FIR against Sanjoy. Venuopal refuted any links with Sanjoy.
He was apprehended by the police and the case was taken up by the NIA in January of 2024.
The accused had actively recruited and radicalised other individuals to join the CPI (Maoist) in a systematic process and manner to carry acts related to terror and violence, in conspiracy with other Maoist cadres, as per NIA investigations.
He had also raised funds for furthering the activities of the proscribed terrorist organisation, including procurement of arms and ammunition.
The NIA had found that Sanjoy had been involved in organising Terror Camps in the Western Ghats Special Zonal Committee (WGSZC) of CPI (Maoist), as part of the conspiracy.
The case was initially registered at KPHB police station following Sanjoy’s arrest on September 15, 2023, from the Malaysian Township Area, KPHB.
The NIA took over the investigations and re-registered the case on January 3, 2024.
A resident of Thane district of Maharashtra, the accused has been chargesheeted under Sections 121A, 120B, 465, 471 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, Section 17,18, 18-B, 20, 38, 39, 40 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 and Section 25 (1-A) of Arms Act, 1959.
Further investigations in the case are underway.