India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) has charged four more people in a case tied to funding and promoting CPI (Maoist) activities in Chhattisgarh. The agency announced this in a statement on Wednesday.
The new accused are Sunita Potam, Shankar Muchaki, Dashrath—also known as Dasru Modiyam—and Mallesh Kunjam. Sunita, Shankar, and Dashrath served as leaders in the Moolwasi Bachao Manch (MBM), a group that fronts for the banned CPI (Maoist). Chhattisgarh’s government outlawed MBM last October under the state’s Special Public Security Act of 2005. Mallesh, meanwhile, worked as an armed member of CPI (Maoist) and is still on the run.
NIA investigators found that all four played key roles in gathering, storing, and handing out money to support the group’s violent goals. This cash helped stage protests against the elected government and block development projects across the state. Groups like MBM served as pipelines for this illegal funding, according to the agency.
Now, the total number of suspects in the case hits seven, with six already in custody.
The story began back in May 2023, when police in Bijapur stopped two MBM members, Gajendra Madvi and Laxman Kunjam, carrying 600,000 rupees in cash. They were supposedly delivering it to bank accounts as ordered by CPI (Maoist) bosses. Bijapur police filed charges against them in November 2023.
NIA stepped in to lead the probe in February 2024. It added more details in its first supplementary charge sheet last August, targeting Gajendra, Laxman, and another person, Raghu Midiyami.
This latest filing builds a stronger picture of how CPI (Maoist) runs its operations in Chhattisgarh through supporters on the ground, allies, and outfits like MBM.
The NIA’s work on case number RC-02/2023/NIA/RPR continues, and they’re hunting down those still at large.
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