The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday arrested three persons in its probe related to killing of Chhattisgarh Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Bhima Mandavi in April last year allegedly by CPI (Maoist) cadres, the agency said in a statement.
The arrested persons have been identified as Laxman Jaiswal, Ramesh Kumar Kashyap and Kumari Linge Tati, all residents of Dantewada, for allegedly providing logistical support to the Maoists for carrying out the attack in which Mandavi and four of his security personnel were killed, the NIA spokesperson Sonia Narang said on Wednesday in the statement.
The arms and ammunition of the slain police personnel were also looted by the CPI (Maoist) cadres, she said.
The attack was earlier investigated by Chhattisgarh Police. The central agency took over the probe in May last year after which it arrested two persons – Bhima Tati and Madka Ram Tati – in April this year.
Sonia Narang said “Investigation has revealed that arrested accused Laxman Jaiswal alias Laxman Sao, who runs a grocery shop in Nakulnar, provided electric wires, explosive substances and other items for the IED blast carried out by CPI (Maoist) cadres. Accused Ramesh Kumar Kashyap alias Ramesh Hemla (ex-sarpanch of Kakadi village) and Kumari Linge Tati were instrumental in providing logistic support to the Naxalites and were part of the conspiracy which led to the killing of Mandavi and four security personnel”.
