The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested a suspect Vijith Vijayan, 26, a resident of Wayanad district, in connection with the Kozhikode Maoist case.
An official statement said here on Friday that Vijith was arrested on Thursday on the charges of radicalising and recruiting two other suspects Alan Shuhaib and Thaha Fazal into proscribed Communist Party of India (Maoist) [CPI(Maoist)]. He was produced before the Special NIA Court, Ernakulam, and sent to judicial custody.
The NIA said that incriminating materials, including documents and various digital devices, were seized during a search conducted in his house in Kozhikode on May last. The scrutiny of the data retrieved forensically from the seized digital devices had also yielded details pertaining to the unlawful and terrorist activities of CPI(Maoist) cadres.
The case was originally registered on November 1 at Pantheerankavu police station in Kozhikode against them and also a third suspect C.P. Usman. Alan and Thaha were arrested with documents and propaganda material supporting CPI(Maoist), while they were conducting a party meeting with Usman who had managed to escape from the scene.
The case was re-registered by NIA on December 2019 after it took over the case. Investigation has revealed that Alan and Thaha along with Usman had organised several secret meetings of the banned CPI(Maoist) for furthering its violent extremist activities in Kerala. They had also conspired and committed unlawful activities as part of their efforts to propagate the ideology and accomplish the objectives of CPI(Maoist), it said.
In April 2020, a charge-sheet was filed against Alan and Thaha besides Usman under Section 120B of IPC besides Sections 13, 38 and 39 of UA (P) Act, the NIA said.
