NIA arrests absconding property manager of Maoists in West Bengal
May 02, 2020
Hooghly (West Bengal) [India], May 2 : The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday arrested an absconding property manager of Maoists in Hooghly district and several incriminating documents showing immovable properties related transactions were seized from his possession.
The accused identified as Manoj Choudhary, 48, was produced before the NIA Special Court in Jharkhand's Ranchi and was remanded to five days' NIA custody.
"The case pertains to the seizure of a huge cache of arms and ammunition at Akbakitand village, Giridih district, Jharkhand, leading to the arrest of 15 operatives of CPI (Maoists) including SAC member Sunil Manjhi," the investigative agency said in a statement.
During further investigation, more numbers of arms and ammunition and a huge quantity of explosives were recovered from Lugu Pahad in Jharkhand's Bokaro district.
Subsequently, the NIA submitted two charge-sheets against total 17 accused persons including absconding accused Manoj Chaudhary on August 31, 2018, and January 8, 2019.
According to the statement, investigation revealed that accused Manoj Chaudhary has been an active member of the banned terrorist outfit CPI (Maoist) and he was instrumental in the investment of proceeds of terrorism into real estate.
"He had been in contact with the senior CPI (Maoist) cadres since 2008 and had been channelising their ill-gotten wealth into the acquisition of immovable properties at prime locations in Giridih district of Jharkhand," it added.
Manoj Chaudhary had been continuously evading arrest for more than three years. Further, the investigation is underway.
