NIA conducts searches in PLFI extortion and terror racket in Jharkhand

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday conducted searches at two locations in the Khunti district of Jharkhand in a PLFI extortion and terror racket.

A statement released by the agency on Wednesday said that the “premises of suspects connected with the proscribed splinter Naxal outfit, the People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI), were searched by NIA teams, and several incriminating digital devices and documents were seized.”

The case relates to the extortion of money from various coal traders, transporters, railway contractors, businessmen, etc. by PLFI cadres in Jharkhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Odisha.

“These cadres had also conspired to commit various terrorist activities, including murders, arson, and violent attacks, with an aim to creating terror in society, especially among businessmen and contractors,” the agency said.

The anti-terror agency on Monday chargesheeted a key associate of jailed gangster Aman Sahu in a case of firing, extortion and arson at a coal mine in Latehar in Jharkhand, the agency said in a statement.

The statement added that the accused, Shankar Yadav, a resident of district Bhagalpur, Bihar, was charged under various sections of IPC, UA(P) Act, and Arms Act.

The case was registered by the local police in Balumath, district Latehar in December 2020 and taken over by NIA in March 2021.

“Shankar Yadav, the 25th accused to be chargesheeted by NIA in the case, was a key aide of Aman Sahu, currently in jail in various cases of Jharkhand, as per investigations. He was involved in creating a false front using shell firms for channelling the extortion money procured by Aman Sahu. During the investigation, a search was conducted at the premises of Shankar Yadav in February 2024, in which Rs 1.30 crore in cash was seized,” as per the statement.