New Delhi:

Four Maoists were sentenced to rigorous imprisonment on Friday by a special NIA court in the 2014 case of assault, threat and arson of a senior Kerala police officer, according to an official statement.

Accused Roopesh was sentenced to 10 years rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 2.35 lakh by a special NIA court in Ernakulam, Kerala. Accused Kanyakumari was sentenced to six years rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs. Penalty of Rs. National Investigation Agency (NIA).

Both of them were convicted under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act or UAPA.

The statement said that the accused Anup, who was convicted only under the UAPA, would be sentenced to eight years of rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs 60,000; the accused Ibrahim was also sentenced to six years of rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs 60,000 under the same law for the crime committed. A fine of Rs 40,000 was imposed.

The case was initially registered by the Willamunda police and was re-registered by the NIA on January 2, 2016.

Eight accused have been identified, one of whom, Ajitha Anu, was later killed in the crossfire while the other two, Mahesh Jaanna and Sandri, are absconding.

A reward of Rs 10 lakh has been announced for each absconder.

“The Special NIA Court Ernakulam on Friday sentenced four CPI (Maoist) cadres convicted on April 9, 2024, to rigorous imprisonment (RI) in connection with the 2014 attacks, threats and arson cases in Kerala. A senior civilian police officer of the state police station,” the statement said.

The incident took place at around 10.30 pm on April 24, 2014, when eight persons, including five CPI (Maoist) activists, hatched a conspiracy to hold illegal riots using lethal weapons, including AK-4. assembly. 47 rifle, the NIA said.

They allegedly broke into the house of AB Pramod, a senior police officer of the Kerala Police.

They held him at gunpoint, threatened to kill him and demanded his resignation if he helped police in anti-Maoist operations, the investigative agency said.

Reports also say they set fire to his motorcycle and posted pamphlets from the banned terrorist group Communist Party of India (Maoist) at his home calling for an armed revolution against the Indian government.

The first chargesheet was filed against three accused, including Rupesh, who led the attackers.

Apart from the Arms Act, they have also been charged under various sections of IPC and UAPA. The NIA said that on January 30, 2018, supplementary charges were filed against the trio and other co-accused under relevant sections of IPC and UAPA.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)