The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has said that they have arrested two persons, including a woman, in connection with the CPI (Maoist) attack on security forces, in which six Maoists and one civilian were killed near Tiriya village in Chhattisgarh in 2019.
The accused were identified as Kandula Sirisha alias Sirisha alias Padmakka and Duddu Prabhakar alias Ajay.
The accused were nabbed after extensive investigations and search operations, taking the total number of arrests in the Tiriya encounter case (also known as the RK Dairy case) to six.
According to the NIA investigations, both the accused were working closely with top leaders of the CPI (Maoist) to promote and expand the banned outfit’s anti-national activities.
It said that several incriminating materials related to the activities of CPI (Maoist) cadres were earlier seized by them during searches at the premises of the accused.
“The accused were working for different frontal organisations of CPI (Maoist). Kandula, a member of the frontal outfit, was previously active as armed cadre (Technology Incharge) of CPI (Maoist). Both Duddu and Sirisha used to receive funds from CPI (Maoist) and worked for different frontal outfits to spread the Maoist Ideology. Both were frequent visitors to the core Maoist belt in Andhra-Orrisa border special zone, where they would go to meet late R.K. alias Akkiraju Haragopal, CCM of CPI ( Maoist) and leader of the United Front,” the official said.
The Tiriya encounter took place in July 2019 when a joint team of local District Reserve Guard (DRG), Special Task Force (STF) and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) had travelled to the forest area near Tiriya in Nagarnar police station area of Jagdalpur district in Chhattisgarh after receiving a tip-off.
They had received information that a group of Maoist cadres had gathered to conspire about carrying out a major terror incident on July 28, which is observed as the “Shaheed Diwas”.
After the encounter, the security forces had recovered arms and ammunition, along with incriminating handwritten documents, literature etc., from the site and started investigations in the case.
The case was initially registered on July 28, 2019, under various sections of the Arms Act and UA (P) Act at a local policestation. It was re-registered by the NIA on March 18, 2021.
