The National Investigation Agency (NIA) in India has seized an arsenal of arms and ammunition from Naxal hideouts in Jharkhand in the People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI) terror funding case. The cache of weaponry was discovered following disclosures made by recently arrested Dinesh Gope, a PLFI member, who revealed the locations of the hideouts. The seizure was made in searches conducted with the help of Jharkhand police and comprised 62.3 kg of gelatin, ammunition, including a pistol, and two improvised explosive devices (IEDs). This was the third such seizure in less than a week. Gope’s previous activities include referring to himself as a PLFI commander, extorting money, and executing attacks to terrorize and intimidate businessmen, contractors, and the public at large. The accused had deposited demonetized currency using a bank account at a petrol pump linked to close associates and family members and invested it through banking channels and dubious shell companies.
The People’s Liberation Front of India is a proscribed Naxal outfit of Jharkhand that used to be known as the Jharkhand Liberation Tigers (JLT). The group has been responsible for hundreds of terror incidents in Jharkhand, Bihar, and Odisha, including several murders using weapons. The organization previously lured unemployed youth by providing them with motorcycles, mobile phones, and easy money.
Dinesh Gope, a native of Khunti in Jharkhand and a member of the PLFI, was arrested in New Delhi on May 21. He earlier appeared in an NIA charge sheet on a case relating to the recovery of demonetized currency from PLFI operatives. Gope was absconding and finally apprehended by the NIA, who also declared a reward of Rs 5 lakhs for information leading to his capture, in addition to the reward of Rs. 25 lakhs announced by the Jharkhand government. The accused is currently in NIA custody for his activities with the PLFI.
