The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested Dinesh Gope, the self-styled supremo of the proscribed People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI), an agency spokesperson said on Sunday.
The PLFI, which mainly operates in Jharkhand, is a splinter group of the Maoists.
Gope alias “Kuldeep Yadav” alias “Badku”, who had more than 100 criminal cases against him and was carrying a reward of Rs 30 lakh on information leading to his arrest, was held in Delhi, the official said.
Gope, a resident of Khunti district in Jharkhand, was charge-sheeted by the NIA in a 2018 case related to the recovery of demonetised currency notes worth Rs 25.38 lakh from PLFI operatives, the spokesperson said.
He had been absconding for almost two decades. The NIA Ranchi branch is investigating three cases against the PLFI, which was previously known as the Jharkhand Liberation Tigers (JLT), the official said.
According to the NIA, the PLFI is responsible for hundreds of terror incidents in Jharkhand.
“More than 102 criminal cases are registered against Gope in Jharkhand, Bihar and Odisha. Most of these cases relate to murder, abduction, threat, extortion, and raising funds for the PLFI,” the spokesperson said.
