The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has discovered a significant stockpile of ammunition at a Naxal hideout in a forest area of Jharkhand. Acting on information provided by Dinesh Gope, the self-proclaimed leader of the banned People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI), who was arrested recently, the NIA recovered 1,245 rounds of 7.62 MM and 271 rounds of 5.56 MM ammunition from the dense forest in Gumla district’s Kamdara area.
According to an NIA spokesperson, the seized ammunition had been transported to Siksohara, Nalanda in Bihar about two years ago. It was carefully concealed with the intention of being distributed to PLFI operatives and members to carry out acts of terror and violence. Dinesh Gope, also known as “Kuldeep Yadav” and “Badku,” had a criminal record of over 100 cases, including charges of abduction, threats, extortion, murder, and fundraising for the PLFI. The PLFI is a militant Maoist group formed in Jharkhand in 2007 and is a splinter group of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist).
Gope, a resident of Khunti district in Jharkhand, was previously charged by the NIA in a case related to the recovery of demonetized currency amounting to Rs 25.38 lakhs from PLFI operatives. In February of last year, an encounter took place between Gope’s PLFI squad and security forces in the forest area of West Singhbhum district’s Gudri police station. Following the encounter, Gope evaded capture and had been on the run since then, attempting to regain the PLFI’s influence in Jharkhand. He used his PLFI associates to extort money and carry out attacks, instilling fear among businessmen, contractors, and the general public.
NIA investigations uncovered that Gope and his associates had been depositing the demonetized currency in a bank account at a petrol pump, later collecting it through levies or extortion. The illicit funds were then invested through banking channels and dubious shell companies under the names of Gope’s close associates and family members.
The case was initially registered at Bero police station in Ranchi on November 10, 2016, and later taken up by the NIA on January 19, 2018. The police filed the first chargesheet against four individuals on January 9, 2017, followed by the NIA filing the first supplementary chargesheet against 11 accused, including Gope. Subsequently, the NIA filed a second supplementary chargesheet in the case on July 23, 2022, against five individuals and three private limited companies.
As part of the investigation, the NIA also attached 14 bank accounts and seized two vehicles, along with other properties and cash, belonging to Shakuntala Kumari, one of the accused in the case.
