3 get 7-year rigorous imprisonment for providing explosives to Naxals in Chhattisgarh

New Delhi: Three men have been sentenced to seven years rigorous imprisonment by a special anti-terror court for providing explosives and daily use items to Naxals in Chhattisgarh, a statement issued on Thursday said.

The convicts have been identified as Semal Deepak, Nara Bhaskar and Telam Mutta, all belonging to Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district, it said.

The trio, found to be overground workers of CPI (Maoist), were arrested in 2023 by the Chhattisgarh Police, who had subsequently recovered electronic detonators, cordtex wire and gelatin from their possession, said the statement issued by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

One more accused, Putti Pappy Reddy, was also arrested later but has now been acquitted by the court.

The NIA investigations revealed that the accused were in touch with active Maoist cadres and involved in the procurement and supply of explosives and daily use items for these cadres, the statement said.

The NIA, which took over the investigation from the state police in February 2024, found oral and documentary evidence to support the case against the accused, leading to their conviction and sentencing by the special court.

"Three men have been sentenced to seven years rigorous imprisonment each, along with a fine, by the NIA special court Jagdalpur (on Wednesday), in a case relating to the supply of explosive materials to cadres of the banned CPI (Maoist) terror outfit in Chhattisgarh," the agency said in the statement.