New Delhi: An investigation conducted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has revealed that the Maoists have been planning for a massive recruitment drive in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi and Himachal Pradesh. Besides the recruitment process, the ultras are also planning for an extortion racket with the help of its overground activists.
“Investigation conducted so far has revealed that several sympathisers of the outlawed organisation with their presence in states like Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi and Himachal Pradesh are in the process of driving the recruitment initiative. They are mostly targeting the youths to get them engaged with the banned organisation,” a senior official from the investigative agency told ETV Bharat here.
Recently, NIA arrested an active member of the organisation from Punjab. Identified as Ajay Singhal alias Aman, he was one of the prime members of the outfit who was assigned with the recruitment as well as extortion task.
The Over Ground Workers & Frontal Organisations
The Over Ground Workers (OGW) of the Maoists has become a major cause of concern for the security agencies. “They can easily mix up with other members of the community. The OGW can be students, academicians, NGO activists, anybody,” the official said.
Along with OGW, the Maoists frontal organisations are also a major headache for the security agencies. Recently, NIA investigations have led to the identification of several front organisations and student wings tasked to identify suitable persons to work as underground cadres. The frontal organisations have been tasked to wage a war against the Government of India and to carry out violent terrorist acts.
Northern Regional Bureau
All four states, including Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi and Himachal Pradesh, are known as the northern regional bureau (NRB) of the Maoists. “The Maoists are presently trying to revive the NRB to further enhance their activities in the rest of India. Recently, the agency conducted massive search operations in all these states and seized several incriminating documents, digital devices including laptop, mobile phones, pen drives, compact discs, SIM cards, and pocket diaries from the residence of several suspects connected with the Maoists.