NIA files charge sheet against 11 in PLFI terror funding case

New Delhi: National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday filed a charge sheet against 11 accused persons in a case related to terror financing of People's Liberation Front of India (PLFI), a proscribed naxal organisation of Jharkhand, an official release said here on Tuesday.

 The accused Vinod Kumar alias Binod Kumar, Chandrashekhar Kumar,  Nand Kishor Mahto, Mohan Kumar alias Rajesh Kumar, Sumant Kumar alias  Pawan Kumar, Nandlal Swarnkar alias Nandlal Soni,Chandra Shekhar Singh, Arun Gope, Jitender Kumar, Navinbhai Jayantibhai Patel and Dinesh Gope  under section 120B, 385, 386, 414, 419 & 471 of IPC and sec. 17, 18, 20, 21 & 22C of the UA(P) Act. 

Except Dinesh Mandal who PLFI chief, is absconding, rest all accused have already been arrested in this case.These accused have been charged for  raising funds through extortion or levy collection and investing this illegal money in  banking channels and dubious shell companies in the names of close associates  and family members of Dinesh Gope. 

The case was originally registered as case No.67/2016, at Bero police Station in Ranchi district on November10,2016, after the recovery of demonetized currency of Rs 25.38 lakhs from the operatives of PLFI which was being deposited into the bank account of a Petrol Pump owned by one of the accused persons. 

The First Charge-Sheet in the case was filed by Jharkhand Police against four arrested accused on January 9,2017.NIA took over the case on January 19, 2018 during investigation established that accused Vinod Kumar, Chandrashekhar Kumar, Nand Kishor Mahto, and Mohan Kumar were close associates of Dinesh Gope  and were actively involved in the criminal conspiracy of raising terror funds for the PLFI. 

 "It was also established  that Sumant Kumar,  Nandlal Swarnkar,  Chandra Shekhar Singh,  Arun Gope,  Jitender Kumar, Navinbhai Jayantibhai Patel and  Dinesh Gope were part of a  criminal conspiracy relating to channelizing of  the extorted levy amount collected from  the contractors,businessmen engaged in the developmental projects in Jharkhand and investing these funds into  dubious  shell companies like  Palak Enterprises, Shiv Adi Shakti, Shiv Shakti Samridhi Infra Pvt Ltd, Bhavya Engicon, formed with the partnership of PLFI associates and family members of Dinesh Gope", the probe agency said.

The extorted money was also being transferred from Jharkhand to other places through a network of Hawala Operators. Investigation has revealed transactions worth Rs. 2.5 crore in two dozen bank accounts in the name of shell companies as well as in the name of individual family members of Dinesh Gope, the agency added.

The investigation agency conducted searches  at various locations in the state of Jharkhand, West Bengal and New Delhi leading to recovery of huge cash of Rs 42.79 lakhs, Latops, mobile phones and incriminating documents relating to extortion and investment in properties.

Movable and Immovable properties worth Rs. 70 lakhs have so far been seized in this case so far and the NIA is making efforts to arrest the absconding accused Dinesh Gope, who has already  been declared as a "Proclaimed Offender", the probing agency said.(UNI)