New Delhi, July 14: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed its third chargesheet in a major conspiracy case, naming Chandan Kumar as the sixth accused in the revival of the banned CPI (Maoist) outfit’s activities in the Magadh zone of Jharkhand and the systematic extortion of funds from contractors to procure arms and ammunition.

The chargesheet was submitted before the NIA Special Court in Ranchi, Jharkhand, in connection with a case, which the anti-terror agency had registered suo motu in December 2021.

Chandan Kumar, arrested by the NIA from Mumbai in January 2026, is described as a key figure in the operation.

According to the NIA’s investigation, Chandan Kumar played an active role in raising funds for the CPI (Maoist) through extortion from contractors working in the region.

The agency’s probe revealed that these illicit funds were channelled through multiple routes to support the terror outfit’s activities, including the purchase of arms and ammunition.

Further investigations established that Chandan Kumar was also involved in efforts to revive the CPI (Maoist)’s Magadh Zone by mobilising and encouraging former cadres to re-join the organisation.

His alleged objective was to strengthen the group’s presence and propagate its ideology through violent means.

The chargesheet highlights that prominent SAC Member of CPI (Maoist), Pradyuman Sharma, along with other accused persons including Abhinav and Chandan Kumar, were part of the larger conspiracy to resurrect the banned organisation’s operational capabilities in the area.

The NIA’s findings point to a well-planned strategy by the Maoist group to regain influence in the Magadh region through financial extortion and cadre mobilisation.

The agency has gathered substantial evidence linking the accused to these terror-related activities.

This is the third charge-sheet filed by the NIA in the case so far, with six accused now formally charge-sheeted.

The central probe agency is continuing its investigation to uncover the full extent of the conspiracy, identify additional operatives, and trace the complete money trail.

The development underscores the NIA’s ongoing commitment to dismantling the financial and operational networks of Left-Wing Extremist organisations operating in the country. Officials indicated that further arrests and chargesheets may follow as the investigation progresses.

New Delhi, July 14: The Cyber Police Station of North-East District, Delhi, has busted a mule bank account racket and arrested four persons in connection with a fraud case involving cheating of Rs 2.47 lakh on the pretext of a courier delivery company.

The arrested accused have been identified as Md. Arbaz Daniyal alias Labbu (20), Jimmy Bathla (41), Abdul Wadood (27), and Aniket Verma (25). Police said the accused were allegedly involved in operating and supplying mule bank accounts used to receive and transfer money obtained through cyber fraud.

According to the police, a case vide e-FIR No. 00194/2026 dated 16.06.2026 under Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) was registered at Cyber Police Station, North-East District, on the complaint of Satender, a resident of Babarpur, North-East Delhi, who works as Deputy General Manager (DGM) at Delhi Transco Limited (DTL).

Police said the complainant received a call from a fraudster impersonating a courier executive regarding the delivery of a parcel. The caller allegedly convinced him to dial a number and activate call and message forwarding on his mobile phone. As a result, incoming calls and SMSs, including banking OTPs, were diverted to numbers controlled by the fraudsters, allowing them to fraudulently withdraw Rs 2.47 lakh from his bank account.

During the investigation, police analysed financial transactions, technical evidence and field intelligence to trace the money trail. Investigators found that Rs 80,000 of the cheated amount had been transferred to a Nainital Bank account belonging to the accused Md. Arbaz Daniyal alias Labbu.

Police said further investigation revealed that the account was allegedly opened and operated as a mule account for receiving proceeds of cyber fraud. A dedicated team conducted raids in Udham Singh Nagar in Uttarakhand and Lucknow, Mirzapur and Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh, leading to the arrest of all four accused.

“Investigation has exposed a well-organised network engaged in procuring and supplying mule bank accounts to cyber fraudsters for laundering cheated money,” Delhi Police said.

During interrogation, police said Md. Arbaz disclosed that he had opened the bank account on the instructions of Jimmy Bathla in exchange for Rs 50,000. Jimmy allegedly handed over the account to Abdul Wadood for Rs 1 lakh.

Police further said Abdul Wadood allegedly supplied the Nainital Bank account details to Aniket Verma, who then provided the account information to cyber fraudsters operating through Telegram for use in online financial frauds.

Four mobile phones, one from each accused, have been recovered during the investigation. Police said analysis of the seized devices revealed transaction details linked to the alleged cyber fraud network.

The arrests have provided important leads about the larger interstate cyber fraud syndicate, and efforts are underway to identify other members, trace additional fraudulent transactions and recover the remaining proceeds of crime.

The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) has firmly rejected rumours of a merger with the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena. Arvind Ganpat Sawant, the leader of the Shiv Sena(UBT) Parliamentary Party in the Lok Sabha, has issued a formal communication to six MPs who defected to the Shinde camp.

The MPs are Omprakash Raje Nimbalkar, Sanjay Dina Patil, Sanjay Jadhav, Nagesh Ashtikar, Sanjay Deshmukh and Bhausaheb Waghchaure.

The letter addresses speculation regarding a purported merger and warns against unsanctioned moves by party legislators. Sawant states that the original Shiv Sena(UBT) political party has neither initiated, agreed to, nor permitted any merger with Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena or any other political entity. This stance has been officially affirmed by Paksha Pramukh (President) Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray.

The letter reminds those six MPs that he was elected in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections on the ticket, symbol, mandate, and support of the Shiv Sena(UBT). Sawant pointed out that the election was fought directly against candidates fielded by Eknath Shinde’s faction.

Sawant highlighted that under Paragraph 4 of the Tenth Schedule to the Constitution of India, individual legislators do not have the legal authority to independently bring about or effect a merger of a political party. They only have the option to accept or reject a merger initiated by the original parent party.

The communication was prompted by public reports suggesting that Nimbalkar, along with other MPs, was attempting to portray a “merger” between the two factions and had approached the Lok Sabha Speaker seeking official recognition for the same.

In response, Sawant wrote, ‘’In the absence of any merger of the original political party, no question of any merger of the legislature party arises. Further, no such merger is permissible or contemplated in law.”

Sawant’s letter comes at a time when the Shiv Sena(UBT) has already filed representations with the Lok Sabha Speaker, requesting that no demands for a merger or separate group recognition from MPs elected on the UBT symbol be entertained.

According to the letter, the Speaker recently granted a hearing to an authorised representative of the Shiv Sena (UBT). As of date, the Speaker has not passed any order recognising any claims of a merger.

A copy of the letter sent to six defected MPs has been forwarded to the Speaker of the Lok Sabha to formally record the party’s strong opposition to any such recognition.