The past fortnight witnessed bloody clashes between the Security Forces (SF) and guerrillas of the proscribed Communist Party of India (Maoist), or Maoists, along the Chhattisgarh-Odisha border. In all, 45 Maoist cadres were killed in separate incidents. Thirty-three Maoists surrendered to the authorities, while seven others were arrested.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) made searches in separate locations in Kashmir and Punjab for suspected terrorists of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT).
Twenty rebels were killed in clashes between three groups in the Northeastern State of Manipur. Further, rebels of different groups were arrested in Manipur and Mizoram.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) continued searches for Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) suspects in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab.
A huge consignment of heroin worth Rs 56 cr was seized in Punjab, while a consignment of drugs was seized in Srinagar.
Cybercrime fraudsters fleeced Rs 1.95 cr from an accountant in Nagpur, Maharashtra.
Srinagar office of the Enforcement Directorate provisionally attached immoveable property worth Rs 5.91 cr in a money laundering case.
Amount worth over rupees seven crores (Rs 7 cr) was transferred by a Malegaon-based firm to entities abroad.
A NIA court sentenced the accused in a case relating to possession of Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN).
27 Maoists killed in Chhattisgarh-Odisha Border
At least 27 Maoists were killed in an encounter with Chhattisgarh police in Gariaband district at the State's border with Odisha[1], on January 21, 2025. It has been reported that Pratap Reddy Ramachandra Reddy, Central Committee Member (CCM) and native of Chittoor district, Andhra Pradesh, was killed in the encounter. He was carrying a reward of Rs one crore. Union Home Minister Amit Shah said it was ‘another might blow to ‘Naxalism’.
The encounter was carried out jointly by CoBRA battalions of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and District Reserve Guard (DRG) personnel.
18 Maoists Killed in Chhattisgarh
Media reports said at least 12 CPI (Maoist) cadres were killed in Bijapur district, Chhattisgarh, on January 16, 2025.[2] Later reports said 18 Maoists were killed.[3] However, officials claimed 18 Maoists were killed. The encounter broke out when a joint team of security force personnel of the District Reserve Guard (DRG) from three districts (Bijapur, Dantewada and Sukma), five battalions of Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were on a combing operation following credible information about the presence of Maoists in the forested area. During the operation, intermittent exchange of fire took place leading to the killing of the 12 Maoists, whose identities are yet to be ascertained. A cache of weapons and explosives was seized from the site. Later reports confirmed Bade Chokka Rao alias Domodar, Telangana State Committee Secretary was also killed.
Separately, two CoBRA commandos were injured when a pressure improvised explosive device (IED) planted by the Maoists went-off in Basaguda police station limits, Bijapur district on the same day.[4]
Four Maoists Surrender, Seven Arrested in Chhattisgarh
Four cadres of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), carrying a combined bounty of Rs 3.2 million, surrendered in Narayanpur district, Chhattisgarh, on January 15, 2025. They included a couple.[5] Among the four was Kamlesh, a Divisional Committee Member (DCM), who was involved in the Tadmetla massacre of 2010 that killed 100 security force (SF) personnel.
Separately, seven Maoist cadres were arrested by a joint team of Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA), District Reserve Guards (DRG) personnel near Duled village, Chintagufa police station limits, Sukma district, on January 14.[6]
29 Maoists Surrender in Chhattisgarh
least 29 cadres of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres, including seven women cadres from the Kutul area surrendered to Superintendent of Police (SP) Prabhat Kumar in Narayanpur District, Bastar division, Chhattisgarh, on January 29, 2025. The SP said highlighted that social change was evident due to such efforts. “We are seeing a movement against Naxalism with successful operations and a visible social transformation in the Kutul area’, he said.[7]
NIA searches for LeT suspects in Kashmir and Punjab
The National Investigation Agency (NIA,) on January, 2025, conducted extensive searches in three districts of Jammu & Kashmir in a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) linked case of killing of non-locals.[8] The case relates to the killing of two civilians belonging to Chamyari in Amritsar, Punjab, by terrorists, who opened fired at them on the evening of February 7, 2024 at Shalla Kadal, Shaheed Ganj area, Srinagar. The searches were conducted today at six locations in the districts of Srinagar, Badgam and Sopore.
NIA teams have seized several incriminating materials from the residential premises belonging to sympathisers, cadres and over-ground workers (OGWs) of the proscribed terror outfit, LeT, and its offshoot ‘The Resistance Front’ (TRF).
Chin Cadres Arrested in Mizoram
Mizoram police, on January 15, 2025, arrested five persons, including a prominent ‘leader’ of Chin National Front (CNF), an insurgent outfit of Myanmar’s Chin state, for smuggling arms and ammunition in Mamit district.[9] Police seized six AK-47 assault rifles, 10,050 cartridges and 13 magazines from the five accused during the operation. Preliminary investigation revealed that the confiscated arms and ammunition were intended for trade between the CNF and the United People’s Democratic Front (UPDF), an insurgent group active in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), Bangladesh.
Death Toll Rises to 20 in Kuki-PLA-KYKL Clashes in Manipur
On January 29, 2025, nine more Kuki National Army-Burma (KNA-B) militants were killed as the gunfight between KNA-B and People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and the Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL), continued for the third day near Border Pillar no 87 at Yangoupok village in Kamjong district, Manipur, near the India-Myanmar border, taking the death toll 20.[10]
Seven Outlaws Arrested in Manipur
Security forces in Manipur, on January 30, 2025, arrested seven individuals associated with banned insurgent groups over the past two days. The arrests took place across various districts and authorities recovered arms and ammunition from the suspects.[11] These actions are part of an ongoing effort to tackle insurgent activities in the region and maintain law and order. On January 28, three members of the outlawed Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL) and one active cadre of the United National Liberation Front-Koireng (UNLF-K) were apprehended in the Tengnoupal district, located along the India-Myanmar border. Authorities seized weapons and ammunition during the operation. In another incident, two members of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) were arrested in Imphal. In another operation, on the same day, two members of the People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PRP-K) were apprehended in the Tentha area, Thoubal district.
NIA Searches Various Locations for BKI Suspects
The National Investigation Agency (NIA), on January 22, 2025, carried out searches at multiple locations linked with the Babbar Khalsa International (BKI)[12] in several northern regions in the Chandigarh grenade attack case. NIA teams searched various locations connected with the banned terror outfit in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Chandigarh. The searches were conducted at the premises of suspects linked to US-based terrorist Harpreet Singh @ Happy Passian in Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Bathinda and Ferozepur districts of Punjab, Lakhimpur Kheri district in U.P., Rudrapur district in Uttarakhand and Chandigarh. Incriminating materials including mobiles/digital devices and documents were seized during the searches.
Heroin Worth Rs 56 cr Recovered in Punjab
Border Security Force (BSF) personnel recovered 8.56 kg of heroin worth over Rs 56 crore from Ballarhwal village, Amritsar district, Punjab, on January 16, 2025.[13] A BSF spokesperson said it is one of the largest drone-dropped heroin consignments in a single sortie. Acting on specific intelligence reports, BSF personnel laid an ambush and successfully recovered a large packet containing 15 smaller packets of heroin.
Drugs Consignment Seized in Srinagar
Media reports of January 21, 2025, said a large consignment of drugs allegedly being transported through a courier service in Jammu and Kashmir was seized in Srinagar.
In an operation against illegal drug trafficking, police in Karan Nagar has successfully seized the consignment. Acting on reliable information, a search was conducted at the courier office after following due legal procedures, resulting in the recovery of a substantial quantity of illegal drugs, the official said. The seized drugs include 220 bottles of a banned drug, and 15 boxes of another banned drug.[14]
Cybercrime Fraudsters Loot Rs 1.95 cr in Nagpur
A media report of January 17, 2025, said a 54-year-old senior accountant recently lodged a police complaint stating that a fraudster had impersonated his company’s director and instructed him to send Rs 1.95 crore for a project. The fraudster used the photograph of the director as the Whats App display picture (DP) in order to trick the victim, the complaint said.
According to the police, on December 30, 2024, he received a WhatsApp message from an unknown number identifying himself as the director of the company. The imposter said that it was his new WhatsApp number. He then enquired about the balance in the company’s bank account. On January 2, 2025, the complainant again received a WhatsApp message from that number. The imposter told him that he was in a meeting and required an urgent transfer of Rs 1.95 crore for a project. The complainant was aware that the company’s director had gone for a meeting in Mumbai. He transferred Rs 1.95 crore into the bank account, details of which were given by the imposter.
ED Attaches Properties Worth 5.91 cr
The Enforcement Directorate (ED), on January 15, 2025, attached immovable properties at Delhi, Jammu and Haryana worth Rs 5.91 crores. “ED Srinagar has provisionally attached immovable property situated at Delhi having worth of Rs. 2.25 crore and related to the shareholders/owners of M/s Manoj Ji & Co. Pvt. Ltd. under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.[15] The ED Srinagar has provisionally attached immovable properties situated at Jammu, Delhi and Sonipat, Haryana, worth Rs. 3.66 cr, in the bogus crypto currency scam namely “Emollient Coin” which was operating under the company named M/s The Emollient Coin Limited, UK.
Money Laundering in Malegaon
Media reports of January 21, 2025, said investigations into the Malegaon money laundering case revealed that a portion of the proceeds of crime (POC), amounting to Rs 7.1456 cr were allegedly diverted abroad under the guise of bogus software imports by two shell companies.[16] These foreign outward remittances were conducted in the name of Ferbion International and Blaze International, with funds generated from alleged illegal activities such as online gaming and betting.
Investigation say the foreign outward remittances done from the bank accounts of the said two entities to international recipients involving multiple accounts further revealed significant fund transfers by Blaze International and Ferbion International through various Indian banks to entities located in the UAE, USA, and Singapore.
Moreover, two additional shell entities, Cubex Infosoft and Ezilon Solutions, were found to have facilitated the remittance of approximately Rs 5.41 crores abroad, employing similar laundering tactics.
NIA Court Sentences four FICN Accused
A Special Court of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), in Mumbai sentenced four accused, identified as Lalu Khan, Mahesh Bagwan, Randheer Singh Thakur and Ritesh Raghuwanshi to five years of imprisonment along with Rs 3,000 fine each, in a case relating to possession of Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN).[17] The case was registered by Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Nagpur, Maharashtra, on January 16, 2020, where FICN of face value Rs 13,67,500 was seized and the four accused were arrested.
Endnotes
[1] https://indianexpress.com/article/india/maoist-chalapati-shot-dead-chhattisgarh-odisha-encounter-9791258/; https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/chhattisgarh-at-least-14-maoists-killed-in-encounter-with-police-gariaband-odisha-border-101737435564069.html
[2] https://indianexpress.com/article/india/maoists-gunned-down-major-encounter-bijapur-9782896/lite/
[3] https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/telangana/2025/Jan/19/telangana-maoist-secretary-among-18-killed-in-chhattisgarh-encounter
[4] https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/two-cobra-commandos-injured-in-ied-blast-in-bijapur-101737010908814.html
[5] https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/raipur/four-naxalites-carrying-bounty-of-32l-surrender/articleshow/117277084.cms
[6] https://www.deccanherald.com/india/chhattisgarh/7-naxalites-arrested-in-chhattisgarhs-sukma-district-3357114
[7] https://www.deccanherald.com/india/chhattisgarh/29-naxalites-surrender-in-chhattisgarhs-narayanpur-3378546
[8] https://nia.gov.in/writereaddata/Portal/PressReleaseNew/1895_1_PR28012025.pdf
[9] https://www.deccanherald.com/india/mizoram/myanmar-rebel-leader-among-five-nabbed-in-mizoram-with-ak-47-rifles-ammunition-3360045
[10] https://www.thesangaiexpress.com/Encyc/2025/1/29/By-Our-Staff-ReporterIMPHAL-Jan-29-Nine-more-Kuki-militants-were-killed-today-as-the-gunfight-between-KN.html
[11] https://assamtribune.com/north-east/seven-members-of-banned-outfits-arrested-in-manipur-1566448
[12] https://nia.gov.in/writereaddata/Portal/PressReleaseNew/1892_1_PR22012025.pdf
[13] https://www.dailyexcelsior.com/drone-dropped-heroin-worth-rs-56-cr-recovered/#google_vignette
[14] https://www.dailyexcelsior.com/illegal-drugs-being-transported-through-courier-service-seized-in-srinagar/
[15] https://kashmirobserver.net/2025/01/15/ed-srinagar-attaches-properties-worth-5-91-crore-in-delhi-jammu-and-haryana/
[16] https://www.freepressjournal.in/mumbai/malegaon-money-laundering-case-71456-lakhs-routed-abroad-through-phony-software-imports-funds-traced-to-uae-usa-and-singapore
[17] https://theprint.in/india/nia-court-sentences-four-to-5-years-of-rigorous-imprisonment-in-fake-currency-notes-case/2447206/
