NIA files charge-sheet against 8 Naxals for Gadchiroli attack

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed a charge-sheet against eight arrested Naxals and four absconding accused for their alleged involvement in triggering a blast in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district in May this year, in which 15 policemen and a driver were killed.

The charge-sheet was filed in a special court here on Wednesday.

Fifteen personnel of the police's Quick Response Team (QRT) and a civilian driver were killed in a landmine blast carried out by Naxals under a small bridge near Jambhulkheda village in Gadchiroli on May 1.

The NIA said that the investigation has established that accused persons are members/supporters of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist).

The probe agency alleged that Naxals hatched a conspiracy to "destabilise the government" and in pursuance of the directions of their senior cadre members and office bearers of CPI (Maoist) "carried out the killing of police personnel, in coordination with the military wing of CPI (Maoist)".

It said the investigation further revealed that the attack was carried out to avenge the killing of 40 Naxals in an ambush by the security personnel in April 2018 in two separate encounters in Gadchiroli district.

As part of the plan, 27 vehicles of a private company engaged in road construction work on May 1 were set ablaze and damaged.

The charge-sheet said that as the QRT reached the spot in a civil vehicle for investigation, the arrested Naxals along with the wanted accused carried out the blast using IED, resulting in the death of 16 persons.