NIA chargesheets 3 cadres of Naxal outfit's military wing for attacking govt office in Kerala

New Delhi | The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has chargesheeted three Maoist cadres in connection with an armed attack at a government office in Kerala's Wayanad in 2023, officials said on Saturday.

The anti-terror agency filed the chargesheet against C P Moideen, Manoj P M and P K Soman before the NIA court in Ernakulam on Friday.

They have been charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, Arms Act, Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, Kerala Forest Act, 1961, and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the NIA said in a statement.

It said that five Maoist cadres, armed with deadly weapons, trespassed into the Kerala Forest Department Corporation (KFDC) office on September 28, 2023, restrained the manager and damaged public property as well as equipment.

They also raised pro-Maoist slogans and pasted posters in the office.

Of the five accused, four were subsequently arrested by law enforcement agencies while one surrendered before the police.

The NIA took over the case a few days later. During the investigation, it found that Moideen, Manoj and Sonam, along with H S Ravindra and Santhosh Kumar A were members of the military wing People's Liberation Guerilla Army (PLGA) of the CPI (Maoist), the statement said.

They had formed a local guerilla squad named Kabani Dalam in Wayanad forests and were actively engaged in acts of terrorism, aimed at spreading fear among the public and destabilising the government, it claimed.

The attack at KFDC was part of their violent anti-national agenda, the NIA said, adding that further investigation in this case was continuing.