Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, June 8: Seven places in Bihar and Jharkhand were searched by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in relation to the 2018 horrific murder of Naresh Singh Bhokta by the CPI (Maoist) or Naxals, an outlawed terrorist outfit, the agency announced on Thursday.
After being denounced as a police informant by the top leadership and Naxal cadres at a so-called “Jan Adalat” (public hearing) held by the outlawed terrorist group, Bhokta was kidnapped and executed on the evening of November 2, 2018. In the vicinity of the police station Madanpur in the Bihar district of Aurangabad, his body was discovered close to the village of Badhai Bigha.
Raids were carried out on Wednesday at the residences of the suspects and defendants in the Bihar districts of Gaya and Aurangabad as well as the Jharkhand district of Palamu in the case.
Five arrested commanders’ homes were searched, as were the homes of two suspected Over Ground Workers and Naxal supporters. Various digital devices, including mobile phones and SIM cards, as well as incriminating documents were seized.
The NIA assumed control of the investigation from the Bihar Police on June 24 last year. Nine people in total have been taken into custody in relation to the case thus far.
In February of this year, the NIA filed an additional chargesheet against one accused, Ajay Singh Bhokta, alleging violations of the Indian Penal Code, the Arms Act, sections 13, 16, 18, and 20, as well as sections 38 and 39 of the 1967 Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
The NIA had retrieved the weapons and vehicles used in the murder as well as the involvement of top Naxal commanders in the murder conspiracy during the course of its investigations.
