NIA court sentences three for links with banned Maoist group
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) special court in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, has convicted and sentenced three individuals in a case involving a banned terrorist organisation, the CPI(Maoist). The accused were found guilty of radicalisation, recruitment, and support for the group.
The convicted persons are Dongari Devendra, Dubashi Swapna, and Chukka Shilpa, all members of the Chaitanya Mahila Sangam (CMS), an outfit linked to the CPI(Maoist). They were arrested in June 2022.
The court sentenced each accused to five years of rigorous imprisonment under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UA(P) Act), including sections 18, 18B, 20, 38, and 39. The sentences will run concurrently. A fine of ₹2,000 was imposed under each section, with an additional six months of simple imprisonment in case of default.
The NIA had filed chargesheets against the three in December 2022, along with two absconding senior Maoist cadres, Gajarla Ravi (alias Uday) and Venkata Ravi Chaitanya (alias Aruna). Both Uday and Aruna were later killed in a police encounter in 2025.
The case was originally registered by the Andhra Pradesh State Police and taken over by the NIA in June 2022. It pertains to a conspiracy involving recruitment, support, association, and radicalisation for the CPI(Maoist), which is banned as a terrorist organisation under Indian law.
