NIA arrests woman among 2 Naxals in 2019 Tiriya encounter case of Chhattisgarh

New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested two Naxal cadres, including a woman, in connection with an encounter that took place in 2019 near Tiriya village in Chhattisgarh claiming the lives of six Naxals and one civilian.

The arrested accused, identified as Kandula Sirisha alias Sirisha alias Padmakka and Duddu Prabhakar alias Duddu alias Ajay were working for different frontal organisations of CPI (Maoist) or Naxal, said the NIA.

The duo were arrested on Friday after extensive investigations and search operations, taking the total number of arrests in the Tiriya encounter case (also known as the RK Dairy case) to six.

According to NIA investigations, both the arrested accused were working closely with top leaders of the CPI (Maoist) to promote and expand the banned outfit’s anti-national activities.

Several incriminating materials related to the activities of CPI (Maoist) cadres were earlier seized by the NIA during searches at the premises of the two accused.

Kandula, a member of the frontal outfit, was previously active as an armed cadre (Tech. Incharge) of CPI (Maoist), said the NIA, adding “both Duddu and Sirisha used to receive funds from CPI (Maoist) and worked for different frontal outfits to spread the Maoist Ideology.”

“Both were frequent visitors to the core Naxal belt in the Andhra-Odisha border Special Zone, where they would go to meet Late R.K. alias Akkiraju Haragopal, CCM of CPI ( Maoist) and leader of the United Front.”

The Tiriya encounter had taken place in July 2019, when a joint team of the local District Reserve Guard (DRG), Special Task Force (STF) and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) travelled to the forest area near Tiriya in the Nagarnar area of Jagdalpur district in Chhattisgarh after a tip-off. They had received information that a group of Maoist cadres had gathered to conspire about carrying out a big incident on July 28, which is observed as Shaheed Diwas.

After the encounter, the security forces recovered arms and ammunition, along with incriminating handwritten documents, literature etc from the site, and started investigations into the case.

The case was initially registered on July 28, 2019, under various sections of the Arms Act and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. It was re-registered by the NIA on March 18, 2021, after the agency took over the case, along with several other cases related to Maoist conspiracy in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh.