New Delhi [India], March 9 (HBTV): In a major breakthrough in the 2023 murder of an Army jawan during a village fair in Chhattisgarh, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday arrested four Naxal or CPI (Maoist) workers and associates for their involvement in the conspiracy.

The arrested individuals have been identified as Bhawan Lal Jain, alias Bhuwan Jain, his associate Suresh Kumar Salam, along with Shailendra Kumar Baghel, alias Golu, and Anduram Salam.

According to the NIA, the four overground workers (OGWs) and supporters of the banned CPI (Maoist) terror outfit were directly involved in hatching the criminal conspiracy to kill Army Havaldar Motiram Achala.

The accused were actively aiding and abetting criminal and unlawful Naxal activities, including extortion, to create fear among the people, the NIA stated.

Achala, who was posted in the Northeast, was brutally murdered while visiting his hometown in Badetevda village, located in the insurgency-hit Kanker district of Uttar Bastar, during a local fair in February 2023.

The NIA took over the case from Chhattisgarh Police a year later and conducted extensive searches to track the culprits. Several incriminating documents and electronic devices were seized during the investigation.

(ANI)