The fund raised through “levy” collection and extortion by naxal leaders are going towards creation of personal wealth and education of their wards in top institutions.
A dossier prepared by the Ministry of Home shows that a large part of this extortion fund comes from miners and even from big corporate. The investigation has found that wards of Maoist leaders avail best education and their families live in comfort, while they mislead the cadre to risk their lives in jungles.
Acting on this information, the Union Home Ministry has set up a multi-disciplinary group to initiate action to choke funding sources of Naxals and to seize assets of their leaders after finding huge fund flow to naxal leaders and their relatives.
Investigations have revealed that one Pradyuman Sharma, member of Bihar-Jharkhand special area committee of the CPI (Maoists), paid Rs 22 lakh towards fees for admission of his niece in a private medical college last year. Another member of the CPI (Maoists) Sandeep Yadav gave Rs 15 lakh for exchange during the demonetisation, said officials, adding that the MHA has made a detailed dossier on this regard.
Yadav’s daughter studied in a reputed private institute and his son is studying in a private engineering college. Similarly, another senior leader Arvind Yadav paid Rs 12 lakh towards fees for his brother to study in a private engineering college.
The ED has registered cases against these four individuals under the Prevention of Money laundering Act, attached properties worth Rs 1.5 crore, seized Rs 2.45 crore in cash, including Rs 1 crore during demonetisation, officials said.
According to officials, the left-Wing Extremism (lWE) movement in the country is financed through a large network of dubious activities, which include illegal levy collected from private contractors, including those involved in execution of Government works and schemes, mining contractors, transporters and owners of small and medium industries.
Similarly, funds are said to be garnered through collections from illegal stone crushing and distribution of Naxal ideology papers. Many corporates involved in mining activities in Maoist-affected areas mostly route through the protection money to the left ultras by the sub-contractors.
The MHA’s new probe group will be headed by an Additional Secretary and has representatives from the Intelligence Bureau, Enforcement Directorate, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, NIA and the CBDT (Central Board of Direct Taxes) and the CBI, as also State intelligence departments and CID, the official added.
The Home Ministry has also initiated the process for creating a separate unit in the NIA (National Intelligence Agency) for investigating important cases pertaining to the lWE.