Raipur, Nov 8 (NationPress) In a strategic move against the armed factions of the outlawed CPI (Maoist), the National Investigation Agency has conducted raids at 12 locations associated with the devastating Aranpur IED explosion of May 2023, which resulted in the deaths of 10 DRG personnel and a civilian driver.

Chhattisgarh's Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister Vijay Sharma praised the NIA for its coordinated operations across Sukma and Dantewada districts, calling the raids a “decisive blow” to the financial networks of the Maoists and a “critical step towards enduring peace in Bastar”.

During a press briefing at his secretariat, the Deputy CM emphasized that the NIA's actions are not merely investigative but rather surgical in nature.

“By targeting the economic backbone of these extremists, we are crippling their capacity to wage war against both the state and its citizens,” he stated.

The lethal assault was carried out by the Darbha Division Committee of Naxalites on April 26, 2023, close to Pedka village in the Aranpur police station area of Dantewada district.

During the recent operations, the NIA uncovered numerous significant and incriminating items, including cash, handwritten documents, and receipt books utilized by the Maoist group for collecting levies.

Investigations have revealed that all those apprehended are directly connected to the CPI (Maoist) cadres responsible for orchestrating the blast, with the NIA continuing its inquiries.

So far, two charge sheets have been submitted in this case, with 27 individuals taken into custody. Further raids targeting urban supporters are being conducted in Raipur and Bhilai.

Sharma emphasized that the youth of Bastar deserve classrooms instead of coffins.

“Today’s operation speaks volumes about their future, far louder than gunfire,” he remarked.

The raids commenced at 5 a.m. across remote areas like Konta, Chintagufa, and Errabor. In one operation at Gadiras, NIA agents, supported by CRPF CoBRA commandos, surrounded a thatched hideout, confiscating a laptop purportedly used to coordinate levy demands from iron-ore transporters.

He associated the operation with the larger anti-Maoist initiative dubbed 'Mission Bastar 2026', which aims to establish 48 new security camps and develop 12,000 km of all-weather roads by 2026.

The Aranpur explosion, triggered by a 40-kg IED concealed beneath a culvert on the Dantewada-Sukma highway, highlighted significant intelligence shortcomings. The recent recoveries include GPS coordinates correlating with the blast site, bolstering the investigation. “This ties the funding to the execution,” Sharma concluded.