Maoists in Bihar-Jharkhand collect money, spend on family: MHA

Maoist leaders operating in Bihar and Jharkhand have used the money they collected through illegal means to fund their relatives' education among other things, an official dossier has claimed.

The dossier, prepared by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), comes as the Centre gave its nod to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to set up a separate wing dedicated for targeting Maoist cadres and sympathisers.

According to the dossier, senior Maoist leader Pradyuman Sharma paid Rs 22 lakh for admission of his niece in a medical college while Arvind Yadav spent Rs 12 lakh for his brother's admission in an engineering college.

Another Maoist operative Sandeep Yadav gave Rs 15 lakh to a trader to exchange cash during demonetisation drive. Yadav's daughter is currently pursuing an engineering course.

The three Maoists are members of the Bihar-Jharkhand Special Area Committee.

In February, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had attached properties worth Rs 86 lakh of Yadav. It also seized assets worth Rs 68 lakh of Pradyuman and his brother Pramod in connection with a money-laundering probe against them.

The NIA is likely to take up cases of Maoists who are spending a large amount of money for their families. It will also investigate allegations against contractors who are laundering money on behalf of Maoists leaders in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bihar.