Gaya: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted a 19-hour-long raid at the residence of former Member of Legislative Council (MLC) Manorama Devi in Gaya, Bihar, as part of an ongoing investigation into Naxalite links. The raid, which began early on Friday morning, resulted in the seizure of ₹4.03 crore in cash, business documents, and several weapons. The operation concluded just past midnight, with the NIA team leaving the premises under police protection and heading to Patna.
The NIA, investigating the financial dealings connected to alleged Naxal links, had to deploy cash counting machines from a local State Bank of India (SBI) branch to tally the large sum of money found during the raid. Shashikant, the branch’s chief manager, along with other bank officials, arrived with the machines around noon, and after counting the money, left the site without disclosing any details to the media.
Manorama Devi, whose house was raided, claimed that the money recovered by the NIA belonged to the bank and was part of a loan. “The amount that was seized is linked to our business, and we have provided the necessary loan documents. The NIA has not found anything incriminating,” she said, adding that she runs multiple businesses, including a hotel, a construction company, a crusher, and a sand contracting firm. However, she evaded questions regarding the exact amount of cash seized.
The raid on Manorama Devi’s residence was part of a broader operation targeting five locations across Bihar. The NIA also raided the residence of Dwarika Yadav, the proprietor of Simran Travels, in the Banke Bazaar area. During that raid, authorities confiscated a laptop, call data records (CDR), and other critical documents.
In a statement issued by the NIA, officials confirmed the raids were part of an ongoing investigation into Naxalite activities. “We are probing financial and logistical links to the CPI (Maoist) group and have recovered ₹4.03 crore in cash, along with 8 to 10 firearms and other documents,” said an NIA official.
The raid stems from the arrest of two CPI (Maoist) operatives, Rohit Rai and Pramod Yadav, in Aurangabad district on August 7, 2023. The two were found with arms, ammunition, and Maoist literature, which prompted the NIA to conduct searches across five locations in Gaya and Kaimur districts to investigate the Maoist conspiracy aimed at reviving the group’s influence in the Magadh region.
During the searches, NIA recovered ten firearms of various calibers and ₹4.03 crore from the homes and offices of three suspects. The authorities are still verifying the documents and other items seized during the operation.
In a separate but related investigation, the NIA raided the home of former district councilor Raju Yadav, also known as Raju Jat, on November 23, 2023, due to suspected Naxalite connections. The NIA carried out raids at several locations across Gaya, including Yadav’s ancestral village in Konch police station area and other villages associated with individuals suspected of Maoist affiliations. In Yadav’s home, the NIA found a diary containing financial transaction records, though no significant recovery was made from other locations.
