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The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested an absconding aide of armed cadres of the proscribed CPI (Maoist) organisation for his involvement in the 2021 Lanji Forest IED blast in Jharkhand, which claimed the lives of three security personnel and injured three others, the agency said on Tuesday.
The accused, identified as Sawan Tuti alias Saban Tuti, a resident of Seraikela-Kharsawan district in Jharkhand, was apprehended from Munnar in Idukki district, Kerala, on Monday. Acting on specific intelligence inputs and in coordination with the Kerala Police, NIA officials arrested Tuti, who had been evading arrest for over three years. During the operation, the agency recovered a mobile phone, SIM cards, and several documents, including materials establishing the identity of the accused. Tuti was wanted in connection with the Lanji Forest Hill Area blast that occurred in March 2021 in Chakradharpur, West Singhbhum district, where an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) planted by Maoists targeted security forces. The explosion killed three Jharkhand Jaguar personnel and left three others, including a CRPF Assistant Sub-Inspector (Radio Operator), critically injured. Tuti had been chargesheeted in September 2021 under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act [UA(P)A], and the Criminal Law Amendment (CLA) Act. A non-bailable warrant and a cash reward of Rs 20,000 had been announced for his capture. According to the NIA, the investigation revealed that Tuti was an active Over Ground Worker (OGW) of CPI (Maoist) and part of a wider conspiracy orchestrated by the organisation's senior leaders to target security forces in Jharkhand. The agency said that further investigation is underway to identify and apprehend other accused and conspirators involved in the case. (ANI)
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