Two more arrested in 2019 Tiriya encounter case in Chhattisgarh

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Two people, including a woman, were arrested for their alleged involvement in an attack by the CPI (Maoist) on security forces near Tiriya village of Chhattisgarh in 2019 that left six Naxals and one civilian dead, PTI reported.

Kandula Sirisha alias 'Padmakka' and Duddu Prabhakar alias 'Ajay' were nabbed after extensive investigations and search operations, taking the total number of arrests in the case to six, a spokesperson of the National Investigation Agency said.

According to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), both the accused were working closely with top leaders of the CPI(Maoist) to promote and expand the banned outfit's anti-national activities.

Several incriminating materials related to the activities of CPI (Maoist) cadres were earlier seized by the NIA during searches on the premises of the two accused, the official said.

"Sirisha and Prabhakar were working for different frontal organisations of the CPI (Maoist). Sirisha, a member of the frontal outfit, was previously active as armed cadre (tech in-charge) of the CPI(Maoist)," the spokesperson said.

The official said both used to receive funds from the CPI(Maoist) and worked for different frontal outfits to spread the Maoist ideology. "Both were frequent visitors to the core Naxal belt in the Andhra-Odisha border Special Zone, where they would go to meet R K alias 'Akkiraju Haragopal', central committee member of the CPI(Maoist) and leader of the United Front," the spokesperson added.

The Tiriya encounter took place in July 2019 when a joint team of the local District Reserve Guard, Special Task Force and the Central Reserve Police Force travelled to the forest area near Tiriya in Jagdalpur district after a tip-off.

They went there after receiving input that a group of Maoist cadres had gathered with the intention to perpetrate a big incident on July 28, which is observed as "Shaheed Diwas", the NIA said.

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After the encounter, the security forces had recovered arms and ammunition, along with incriminating handwritten documents and literature from the site, and started investigations in the case, the agency said.

The case was initially registered on July 28, 2019, under various sections of the Arms Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. It was re-registered by the NIA on March 18, 2021, after the agency took over the case, along with several other cases related to Maoist conspiracy in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. (PTI)