NIA court awards Maoist 9 yrs' jail for 'anti-national activities'

Lucknow : A special NIA court in Lucknow sentenced Rajendra Munda , an active member of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), to nine years imprisonment for conspiring against the nation and attempting to disrupt the country’s unity, integrity, and sovereignty. Special judge Hussain Ahmad Ansari also fined the convict Rs 43,000.

Munda was convicted under IPC Section 121A (conspiracy) and various sections of UAPA, govt counsel MK Singh told TOI. He said the case dated back to 2010 when several members of the proscribed Maoist outfit and its frontal organisations were arrested in Gorakhpur, Kanpur, and Prayagraj.

According to officials, Munda was attempting to meet his sister, Hiramani alias Asha, a fellow Maoist operative who was arrested and lodged in Gorakhpur jail. On receiving intelligence, STF arrested Munda near a temple on Station Road in Gorakhpur. Maoist literature and antinational propaganda material were recovered from him. TNN