NIA files chargesheet against 8 for supplying explosives, drones to members of CPI (Maoist)

New Delhi, Dec 1: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday filed a chargesheet against eight persons for supplying deadly explosives, drones and other equipment to the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) for attacking security forces in the Maoist-infested areas of the country.

An NIA spokesperson here said that all eight accused are in custody following their arrest under several sections of the IPC, TSPS act, ES Act, and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

The official said that while three of them, working as couriers for the proscribed outfit, were nabbed while on their way to supply the explosives, drones and a Lathe machine, the others were arrested subsequently.

"NIA probe had found that the explosive material recovered from the possession of the three arrested -- Punem Nageswar Rao, Devanuri Mallikarjun Rao and Vollepogula Umashankar -- was supplied to them by accused Jannu Koti, Arepalli Srikanth, Tallapalli Arogyam and Bontha Mahender.

"Koti, Srikanth, Arogyam and Mahender had procured the stuff from Sonaboina Kumaraswamy, who held a licence for dealing in explosives," the official said.

The official said that probe found that the courier trio of Punem, Devanuri and Vollepogula had purchased and supplied a drilling machine to the Maoists in March 2023.

"They had further purchased a Lathe machine in May 2023 for delivering to CPI (Maoist), a Left Wing extremist organisation involved in various terrorist activities with the stated aim of overthrowing the Indian government through a prolonged so-called ‘people’s war’. These accused had also purchased a drone for the Maoists in May 2023, intended for spying on the activities of security forces inside the forest," the official said.

The official said that they further received explosive materials, meant to unleash violent attacks on security forces, from their co-accused, to be supplied to the accused underground Maoists.

The cache that the three accused were carrying at the time of their arrest was intended for use in "manufacturing of country-made arms", to be deployed against the security forces in maoist-affected areas, the NIA probe has found.

A case was registered at Cherla police station in Telangana on June 5 and taken over by the NIA on August 3 this year.