NIA nabs one more in Maoist revival conspiracy case

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Sunday (June 22, 2025) arrested a key accused involved in the attempts to revive a Communist Party of India (Maoist) Northern Region Bureau (NRB) terror module.

The agency also seized digital devices, including hard drives, pen drives, and mobile phones, as well as other “incriminating” material during a search in the West Delhi house of the accused person identified as Vishal Singh, originally from Uttar Pradesh’s Mathura.

“Investigations have revealed that the accused, a member of the CPI (Maoist), had delivered a drone to leaders of the banned terror outfit in Chhakarbanda/Panchrukhiya forest area of Bihar to further its anti-national activities. He had imparted technical training to other members of the group and had also attended meetings with its central committee members in Bihar in 2019,” the probe agency said.

The NIA had earlier in August last year arrested another accused, Ajay Singhal alias Aman, the in-charge of the State Organising Committee (SOC) Haryana and Punjab of the CPI (Maoist), in the case registered in 2023.

“The case relates to the terror organisation’s conspiracy to re-energise its decrepit influence in the Northern Regional Bureau (NRB) area, comprising Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. The conspiracy involves recruitment and strengthening of the organisation in the region through underground cadres working in urban areas, along with some Over Ground Workers (OGWs) operating in the guise of activists,” the agency said.

According to the NIA, several front organisations and student wings have been used to prepare the ground as part of the conspiracy in order to “wage war against the Government of India”. The suspects were receiving funds from the outfit’s Eastern Regional Bureau, particularly from Jharkhand.