NEW DELHI: The anti-terror federal probe agency NIA has arrested another key accused, identified as Vishal Singh, in connection with its probe into the CPI (Maoist) Northern Region Bureau (NRB) terror revival conspiracy, officials said on Sunday.
Following the arrest, the agency conducted a search at his residence in West Delhi and seized devices including hard drives, pen drives, mobile phones, and other incriminating material, they said.
Singh, originally from Mathura in Uttar Pradesh, has been found to be a member of the CPI (Maoist), the officials said, alleging that he had delivered a drone to leaders of the banned outfit in the Chhakarbanda/Panchrukhiya forest area of Bihar to further its violent anti-national activities.
“He had imparted technical training to other cadres of the CPI (Maoist) and had also attended meetings with its central committee members in the deep forest areas of Bihar in 2019,” a senior NIA official said.
In August 2024, the NIA had arrested another accused, Ajay Singhal alias Aman, who was the in-charge of the State Organising Committee (SOC) for Haryana and Punjab of the CPI (Maoist).
The case pertains to the banned Naxal outfit’s conspiracy to re-energise its depleting influence in the Northern Regional Bureau (NRB) area, which comprises Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh.
“The conspiracy involves recruitment of cadres and strengthening of the organisation in the region through underground operatives working in urban areas, along with some Over Ground Workers (OGWs) operating under the guise of activists,” the official said.
Several front organisations and student wings have allegedly been used to prepare the ground for promoting the conspiracy aimed at waging war against the Government of India, the officials said, claiming that such Naxal operatives were receiving funds from the outfit’s Eastern Regional Bureau (ERB), particularly from Jharkhand.