RAIPUR: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed charge-sheet against 33 Maoists in the murder of BJP MLA Bheema Mandavi and four police personnel in the special court at Jagdalpur (Bastar).
The charge-sheet was filed under the relevant sections of IPC, Arms Act, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967, and Explosive Substance Act against 33 accused, the statement by the central probe agency cited.
Of the 33 accused, as many as six have been arrested, 22 absconding while the remaining five have died.
During the course of the investigation, the NIA has identified the details of six who are in its custody.
Barely two days before the first phase of polling in Bastar Lok Sabha constituency, Mandavi and four police personnel were killed in a powerful IED blast triggered by the Maoists at Shyamgiri village in Dantewada on April 9 last year.
With no clues initially available, the NIA secured a breakthrough in the case after examining several witnesses, surrendered Maoist cadres, and rigorous technical analysis, a senior official said.
According to the issued statement, the probe established that the decision to eliminate Mandavi was taken at Maoist’s Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC) meeting in December 2018 in Bastar.
The investigation also substantiated the involvement of top Maoist leaders of outlawed CPI (Maoist). They are Nambala Keshava Rao alias Basavraj (general secretary of the CPI-Maoist and secretary of the central committee), Kattam Sudarshan alias Anand (secretary of Central Regional Bureau), Mallojullla Venugopal alias Bhupathi (Politburo and Central Committee member), Thippari Tirupati alias Deva (Central Committee Member), Ropulla Srinivas alias Ramanna (Central Committee member and secretary-DKSZC), Hidma alias Hidmanna (DKSZC member and commander-PLGA Battalion No-1), and Ganesh Uike (DKSZC member and secretary—South Regional Committee).