New Delhi: Top Naxal leaders from Bihar and Jharkhand are paying lakhs to private medical and engineering colleges to secure admission for their relatives, a ministry of home affairs dossier has revealed.
The MHA dossier, accessed by CNN-News18, showed a major spike in the assets of the top brass of Naxals in the last few years. Officials said that the biggest source of these funds is extortion.
While Pradyuman Sharma, a member of the Jharkhand special area committee (BJAS), paid Rs 22 lakh for admission of his niece in a medical college, another BJAS member Sandeep Yadav ensured his son and daughter’s admission in a private engineering college and a private institute respectively.
Senior leader Arvind Yadav, meanwhile, paid Rs 12 lakh as fee for his brother to study in a private engineering college, officials said.
Sandeep Yadav, the dossier showed, also exchanged Rs 15 lakh cash during the demonetisation drive. Traders used as a front for the exchange informed the police about the cash during interrogation, officials said.
He also has a flat in Ranchi worth Rs 30 lakh and has also reportedly invested Rs 50 lakh in real estate. "ED has seized Rs 1.45 crore in cash and properties, including land spread across 32 acres and several buildings, in his name. Two buses, 11 cars/jeeps and two tractors have also been seized under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) act," MHA said.
Pradyuman Sharma, who is accused in 51 cases, has also acquired land worth Rs 37 lakh.
Top ministry officials told CNN-News18 that extortion is the source of these assets. "Fee imposed on private contractors, transporters and owners of small and medium industries is the source of these funds. Funds are also generated through collections in illegal mining and stone crushing and collection of tendu patta," he said.
"CPI(Maoist) is known to force children to join their squads and strongly resist all kinds of development activities, be it road construction or mobile towers erection. Their double standard is exposed by the kind of education and other facilities they provide to their own children and families," a top MHA official told CNN-News18.
Ministry of Home Affairs said that a multi-disciplinary groups comprising officers from central agencies, state police, DRI, state intelligence, CID, CBDT, NIA and CBI is being set up to choke funds of Naxals.
The Enforcement Directorate has registered four cases against Sandeep Yadav, Pradyuman Sharma, Vinay Yadav and Musafir Sahni under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. Properties worth Rs 1.5 crore belonging to Sandeep and Pradyuman have been attached.
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