The NIA said the duo was working closely with top leaders of the CPI (Maoist) to promote and expand the banned outfit’s activities.
So far, 6 individuals have been arrested in connection with the Tiriya encounter case. (Wikimedia Commons)
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested two people in connection with the 2019 CPI (Maoist) attack on security forces, in which six Maoists and one civilian were killed near Tiriya village in Chhattisgarh.
The duo, including a woman, was nabbed on Friday after extensive investigations and search operations, taking the total number of arrests in the Tiriya encounter case to six, the agency said on Saturday, 22 July.
According to NIA investigations, both the arrested individuals 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 at the premises of the two accused.
The arrested — identified as Kandula Sirisha alias Sirisha alias Padmakka, and Duddu Prabhakar alias Duddu alias Ajay alias DP — were working for different frontal organisations of CPI (Maoist).
Kandula was previously active as armed cadre of the CPI (Maoist).
Sirisha is the wife of late Maoist leader RK (Akkiraju Hargopal alias Ramakrishna alias RK). The NIA picked her up from Prakasam district in Andhra Pradesh, while Prabhakar was detained from Vijayawada.
Both Sirisha and Prabhakar used to receive funds from the CPI (Maoist) and worked for different frontal outfits to spread the Maoist ideology, the NIA said.
Both were frequent visitors to the core Naxal belt in the Andhra-Orrisa Border (AOB) Special Zone, where they would go to meet the late RK, Central Committee Member of CPI (Maoist) and leader of the United Front.
The Tiriya encounter had taken place in July 2019, when a joint team of local District Reserve Guard (DRG), Special Task Force (STF), and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) had travelled to the forest area near Tiriya in Nagarnar police station area of Jagdalpur district in Chhattisgarh after a tip-off.
They had received information that a group of Maoist cadres had gathered to conspire about carrying out a big incident on 28 July, which is observed as Shaheed Diwas or Martyrs’ Day.
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 case was initially registered as FIR No.179/2019, dated 28 July 2019, under various sections of Arms Act and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.
It was re-registered by the NIA on 18 March 2021 as RC-01/2021/NIA/RPR after the agency took over the case, along with several other cases related to Maoist conspiracies in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh.
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