NEW DELHI: The anti-terror federal probe agency NIA has conducted raids across the Amabeda area of North Bastar district in the Kaker region of Chhattisgarh as part of its investigation in a case linked to the brutal killing of Indian Army personnel by extremists of the banned CPI (Maoist) last year, officials said on Sunday.The officials said that the investigative teams extensively searched several locations belonging to 11 suspects during the crackdown in villages Useli, Gumjhir, Badetevda, Umarkumta, and Amabeda.Following the searches, air guns, mobile phones, printers, laptops, hard discs, DVRs, motorcycles, incriminating naxal documents, which are being examined, and Rs 66,500 in cash have been seized, they said.The case relates to the fatal attack on Motiram Achala, who was on leave from his posting in Assam in the Indian Army when he was shot dead by a group of unknown cadres of CPI (Maoist) near Murga Bazar village Useli, PS Amabeda, in February 2023, the officials said. Achala was at a local fair along with his elder brother Birajhu Ram Achala and his friends when he was attacked. After the murder, the assailants fled towards the nearby jungle, shouting slogans of “Lal Salam Jindabad”.“During the NIA investigation, names of CPI (Maoist) supporters suspected to have been involved in the heinous crime came to light, leading to today’s searches,” the statement read.Achala, who joined as Haviladar in 2013, was the first one from the village to join the Indian Army. He used to encourage local residents to join the defence forces.During the NIA investigation, names of CPI (Maoist) supporters/OGWs suspected to have been involved in the heinous crime came to light, which led the NIA investigators to launch searches on the premises of the suspects.The NIA, which took over the case from the local police in March this year, is continuing with its investigation and has intensified its efforts to dismantle the Maoist ecosystem in the region, the officials said.
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