The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday chargesheeted six more Maoists in connection with the Tarrem ambush of April 2021 in which 22 security personnel were killed and several injured.
The central agency had called it a “terrorist act”. The agency had earlier filed a chargesheet against 40 Maoists. With six more being chargesheeted, the number goes up to 46.
The anti-terror agency had registered the case on June 5, 2021 and had filed its original chargesheet against 23 accused persons in December last year, followed by a supplementary chargesheet against 17 more in July 2023.
In its second supplementary chargesheet filed on Tuesday in NIA special court in Chhattisgarh’s Jagdalpur, the NIA has charged Manoj Podiyami, Mula Devender Reddy, Vijja Hemla, Kesha Sodi, Mallesh and Sonu under various sections of UA(P)Act 1967, Arms Act, Explosive Substances Act and the IPC.
The deadly attack on security personnel had been carried out on the directions of top leaders of the proscribed organisation Communist Party of India (Maoist), sources said.
The cadres had launched the gruesome assault with automatic weapons and Barrel Grenade Launchers (BGL) when combined teams of DRG, CoBRA and CRPF were conducting search operations against the Maoist cadres near Tekalgudiyam village, Tarrem.
During the attack, the accused had also looted weapons from the SOC, besides kidnapping one CoBRA soldier, who was later released. Investigations to nab others involved in the offensive against the security forces are underway, officials said.
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