NIA files 2nd supplementary charge sheet against 3 in Bihar's Bhokta murder case

The National Investigation Agency has filed its second supplementary charge sheet against three people in a case related to the abduction and murder of a civilian by the banned CPI(Maoist) in Bihar in 2018.

The charge sheet has been filed at an NIA special court in Patna under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act against Vinay Yadav alias Kamal alias Murad and alias Guru ji, Naval Ji alias Naval Bhuiyan, and Arjun Bhuiyan and Jilebiya Yadav alias Vinay, all residents of Bihar, a spokesperson of the federal agency said.

The latest charge sheet comes just days after the National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted widespread searches in Jharkhand and Bihar in connection with the case which was originally registered by Bihar police on November 3, 2018 following the brutal murder of Naresh Singh Bhokta.

Nine people have so far been arrested in the case, the investigation of which was taken over by the NIA on June 24 last year.

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The agency had filed a supplementary charge sheet on February 25 against one of the accused.

The spokesperson said the NIA’s investigation in the case had unearthed the involvement of top CPI(Maoist) commanders in the conspiracy leading to the brutal murder of Bhokta, committed with the aim of terrorising the people.

Weapons and vehicles used in the murder were recovered, the official said.

The NIA said all the three charge-sheeted on Monday were found to be members of the proscribed CPI (Maoist) organisation and were arrested on December 15, 2022.

"They had attended the meeting of zonal commanders, and top leaders of the CPI (Maoist), convened by accused Pramod Mishra in the forest of Anjanwa. It was at this meeting that the decision to eliminate suspected police informers, including Bhokta, was taken," the spokesperson said.

The agency said the trio, along with other co-accused persons, was involved in the abduction of Bhokta as well as the conduct of the Jan Adalat (public meeting) where it was decided to eliminate Bhokta.

Bhokta was abducted on November 2, 2018 and taken to a “jan adalat or kangaroo court” where the top leadership of the CPI(Maoist) issued instructions to their cadres to kill him after declaring him as a police informer. His body was found near Badhai Bigha village in the Madanpur police station area the same day.