NIA arrests two for illegal supply of arms to Chhattisgarh

Lucknow: In another breakthrough in the Chhattisgarh case pertaining to the supply of arms and ammunition to cadres of the banned CPI (Maoist), the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday arrested two more key accused with links to the alleged conspiracy from Prayagraj.
Those arrested were identified as Sudhir Tripathi and Suraj Nishad, both hailing from the district of Prayagraj in UP.The total number of arrests in this case has now gone up to six. Four accused were arrested in Jan 2023, identified as Santosh Kumar Gupta, Prince Sharma, Vijay Sahu and Hunga Madakami, when the arms and ammunition were seized by the Chhattisgarh police, which originally registered the case under various sections of the Arms Act, UAPA and IPC.
Police seized a USA-marked revolver and a mobile phone found while searching Sharma. A mobile phone of foreign origin found with Sahu was also seized. The NIA, which took over the investigation in the case in Jan this year, found both Sudhir and Suraj to be actively involved in the supply of arms and ammunition from UP to the CPI (Maoist) cadres in the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh, officials said.
They were in regular touch with one another and conspired to provide logistical support to the banned terrorist outfit, as per NIA investigations, which are continuing. It all started on Jan 11, 2023, when Bhairamgarh police received a tip-off about Santosh Gupta, a resident of Sanjaydhara, suspected of supplying weapons to Maoist leader Hunga Madakami.
The confidential source indicated that Gupta possessed bullets and was expecting a firearm delivery. Gupta was apprehended and during a personal search, the police found three live bullets with KF 325 BWL markings, along with a mobile phone. Gupta could not produce valid documents for the ammunition, leading to its confiscation.
Further interrogation revealed that Prince Sharma from Bijapur was delivering a pistol to Gupta. The police later arrested Sharma and his accomplice, Vijay Sahu. Later, this case was taken up by the NIA.