24 Police Personnel Sentenced to 10 Years in Jail for Arming Maoists in Chhattisgarh

24 Police Personnel Sentenced to 10 Years in Jail for Arming Maoists in Chhattisgarh24 Police Personnel Sentenced to 10 Years in Jail for Arming Maoists in Chhattisgarh

VoM News Desk | October 14, 2023 | 10:18 AM IST | Chattisgarh, Crime | Follow on Google News

24 Police Personnel Sentenced to 10 Years in Jail for Arming Maoists in Chhattisgarh

24 Police Personnel Sentenced to 10 Years in Jail for Arming Maoists in Chhattisgarh

In a significant judgment, a special court in Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, handed down 10-year prison sentences and imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on 24 police personnel, including two Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel and 22 police officers. They were convicted in a case involving the supply of arms to Maoists in Chhattisgarh in 2010.

Tragic Dantewada Inciden: 24 Police Personnel Sentenced to 10 Years in Jail for Arming Maoists in Chhattisgarh

The case was linked to a tragic incident in Dantewada, Chhattisgarh, in April 2010, where 76 CRPF personnel lost their lives, and eight Maoists were killed. Special Judge (EC Act) Vijay Kumar declared the accused guilty on Thursday. Most of the 22 personnel convicted belonged to the Uttar Pradesh Police and Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC). Unfortunately, the main accused had passed away during the lengthy trial that spanned over a decade.

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Arms Supply Operation and Arrests

Rampur’s additional district government counsel (criminal) (ADC), Pratap Singh Maurya, explained that the incident transpired in 2010 when the superintendent of UP Special Task Force (STF) in Lucknow received intelligence about the supply of cartridges, arms, and ammunition to Maoists and terrorists in Chhattisgarh from Rampur. This operation was orchestrated by a person based in Allahabad (now Prayagraj).

On April 29, 2010, the STF apprehended three individuals: Yashonandan, a retired sub-inspector of PAC, and CRPF personnel Vinod Paswan and Vinesh Kumar from Rampur. Vinod and Vinesh served as havildars at the CRPF’s Rampur center. The STF discovered a cache of cartridges, Insas rifles, and cash in their possession.

In total, 12 sacks of ammunition were seized. Subsequently, all three were remanded to judicial custody. Acting on information provided by Yashonandan, another individual named Nathiram Saini was arrested in Moradabad, as per Maurya. The UP STF went on to arrest and charge 23 police officers. Yashonandan had provided a diary containing the names of the accused and details of their respective bank accounts.

Ammunition Supply and Criminal Charges

According to Maurya, most of the 23 arrested personnel were assigned to armories in various districts across Uttar Pradesh. They were accused of supplying ammunition to Maoists who targeted a CRPF contingent in Dantewada, Chhattisgarh, in April 2010. The Rampur court found all the accused guilty under Sections 409 (criminal breach of trust by a public servant, banker, merchant, or agent), 413 (habitually dealing in stolen property), and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Yashonandan was designated as the primary accused in the chargesheet following the investigation into the case.

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