Two Decades On The Run: NIA Captures Fugitive PLFI Leader Dinesh Gope Wanted In Over 100 Cases

NIA arrested Dinesh Gope, leader of proscribed People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI).

An NIA spokesperson confirmed that more than 102 cases have been filed against Gope in the states of Jharkhand, Bihar and Odisha, with most of these involving charges of murder, abduction, threat, extortion and fundraising for the PLFI.

The PLFI is a militant Maoist outfit and also a splinter group of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) formed in 2007 in Jharkhand.

PLFI chief Gope had been on the run for nearly two decades and the Jharkhand government had announced a reward of Rs 25 lakh for information on his whereabouts, with the NIA adding a further reward of Rs 5 lakhs.

“Gope, a resident of Khunti district in Jharkhand, was arrested in Delhi. He was charge-sheeted by the NIA in 2018 in a case related to the recovery of demonetised currency notes worth Rs 25.38 lakh from PLFI operatives,” the spokesperson said, reports The Indian Express.

The Ranchi branch of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is currently conducting an inquiry into the three cases against the PLFI, formerly known as the Jharkhand Liberation Tigers (JLT).

The NIA spokesperson said, “On February 3 last year, an encounter had taken place between a Gope-led PLFI squad and security personnel in a forested area under Gudri police station of West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand.

"Several rounds were fired in the encounter before the rebels sneaked into the forest and Gope managed to escape, the official said, adding he had been taking shelter at different places while making all efforts to re-establish the PLFI’s stronghold in Jharkhand.”

According to the spokesperson, Gope and his PLFI team members terrorised businessmen, contractors, and the public by extorting money and executing attacks. The group deposited demonetized currency notes into a bank account and later collected them through extortion.

"The illegal money was then invested through banking channels and dubious shell companies in the name of close associates and family members of Gope,” the spokesperson said.

“Investigation has revealed that the PLFI used to lure unemployed youths by providing them motorbikes, mobile phones and easy money… after imparting training, they used to equip them with lethal weapons to carry out terror incidents.

"Extortion is PLFI’s major source of income and the outfit has been targeting coal traders, railway contractors and various private entities involved in developmental projects in various districts of Jharkhand,” the spokesperson added.

According to a statement from the NIA, a case was registered at the Bero police station in Ranchi on 10 November 2016, which was subsequently re-registered by the NIA on 19 January 2018. The case involved the withdrawal of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes from circulation in 2016.

The police filed the first chargesheet against four individuals on 9 January 2017. Later on, the NIA filed the first supplementary chargesheet against 11 accused, including Gope, in the case. The NIA also filed the second supplementary chargesheet against five individuals and three private limited companies on 23 July last year.

Furthermore, the agency attached over Rs 1 crore worth of cash, immovable property, 14 bank accounts, and two cars involved in the case.