Visakhapatnam, July 23 (IANS) The National Investigation Agency (NIA) special court here has convicted and sentenced three accused to five years in a terror conspiracy related to radicalisation, recruitment and support for the banned CPI (Maoist) terrorist organisation.
The accused, Dongari Devendra, Dubashi Swapna and Chukka Shilpa, were members of Chaitanya Mahila Sangam (CMS), an outfit working for CPI (Maoist), the NIA said in a release.
The court has sentenced each of the accused, who were arrested in June 2022, to rigorous imprisonment of five years under each of Sections 18, 18B, 20, 38 and 39 of the UA (P) Act. The sentences will run concurrently.
A fine of Rs 2,000 has also been imposed for each section on the three accused, with an additional six months’ simple imprisonment in case of default in payment of the fine.
NIA had chargesheeted the three accused in December 2022, along with two absconding underground senior Maoist cadres – Gajarla Ravi alias Uday and Venkata Ravi Chaitanya alias Aruna.
The case, taken over by NIA from the Andhra Pradesh State Police in June 2022, relates to conspiracy, recruitment, support and association, along with radicalisation, for CPI (Maoist).
On July 10, the Andhra Pradesh Cabinet approved the establishment of a special court in Visakhapatnam to try cases registered under the NIA Act.
The Cabinet approved the proposal to establish the special NIA court in Visakhapatnam with state‑wide jurisdiction and to sanction a total of 16 staff members, including a Special Judge, for its functioning.
The decision was taken following the Supreme Court’s directive to all states to establish special NIA courts for the time‑bound disposal of cases registered under the National Investigation Agency Act, 2008.
Considering the volume of NIA cases in Visakhapatnam, the Andhra Pradesh High Court had opined that it was necessary to establish a special NIA court at the District and Sessions Judge level in Visakhapatnam with jurisdiction over the entire state of Andhra Pradesh.
According to officials, 20 NIA cases are currently pending in the state. Of these, 19 are pending before the Court of the 3rd Additional District and Sessions Judge in Visakhapatnam, while one is pending before the Court of the 2nd Additional District and Sessions Judge in Vijayawada.
–IANS
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