PLFI Terror Funding Case: IEDs, Arms Seized In Jharkhand
The National Investigation Agency (NIA), in operations conducted with the support of Jharkhand Police, has seized a large amount of explosives, arms and ammunition from the State, in the PLFI terror funding case over the past two days.
Disclosures made by Dinesh Gope, who has been in NIA custody for the last 8 days, following his arrest in the case on 21st May, led to the seizures, made from Khunti, Gumla and Simdega districts of Jharkhand on Monday and Tuesday.
Gope, who had been absconding before he was caught in New Delhi, had earlier too led the NIA to a huge cache of arms and ammunitions in a forest in Gumla district.
In the latest seizures, the NIA and Jharkhand Police on Monday recovered about 62.3 kg of Gelatin and 732 rounds of 5.56 mm ammunition from Jhariatoli, Garai, PS Rania in Khunti district. The same day, one Pistol, 11 rounds of 5.56 mm ammunition and 30 rounds of .303 ammunition were seized from Kisni village in Kamdara area of Gumla district. Subsequently, on Tuesday, two IEDs were also seized from the forest hill of Mahuatoli, PS Mahabuang in district Simdega.
This was the third such seizure in less than a week. On 26th May, a huge cache of ammunition (1245 rounds of 7.62 mm & 271 rounds of 5.56 mm) was seized as result of sustained investigations into the case following Gope’s arrest.
Dinesh Gope @Kuldeep Yadav @Badku of district Khunti in Jharkhand was earlier chargesheeted by NIA in case relating to the recovery of demonetized currency of Rs. 25.38 lakhs from the operatives of PLFI (People’s Liberation Front of India – a proscribed Naxal outfit of Jharkhand). He had been absconding and was finally nabbed by the NIA on 21st May and sent to NIA custody by NIA Special Court on 22nd May.
NIA had also declared a Reward of Rs 5 lakhs for inputs leading to capture of Dinesh, in addition to the reward of Rs. 25 lakhs announced by the Jharkhand Government.
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Gope used to extort money and execute attacks through his PLFI team members to terrorize and intimidate businessmen, contractors and the public at large, NIA investigations have shown. The accused, along with his associates, was involved in depositing the demonetized currency in a Bank account at a Petrol pump, to be later collected through levy/extortion. The illegal money was then invested through banking channels and dubious Shell Companies in the name of close associates and family members of the accused Dinesh Gope.
Known previously as Jharkhand Liberation Tigers (JLT), PLFI is responsible for hundreds of terror incidents in Jharkhand, Bihar and Odisha including several murders through use of weapons, as per the NIA investigations. The outfit used to lure unemployed youth by providing them with motor bikes, mobile phones and easy money.
