NIA Court Sentences 12 for Extortion in Jharkhand Coal Fields

A special NIA court in Ranchi sentenced 12 individuals for extorting funds from coal transporters and businesses to support the banned Tritiya Prastuti Committee (TPC). Sentences ranged from five to ten years for involvement in a conspiracy within the Amrapali-Magadh coal mining areas of Jharkhand.

In a landmark ruling, the Special National Investigation Agency (NIA) Court of Ranchi, Jharkhand, on Tuesday, issued sentences to 12 individuals involved in a sophisticated extortion racket. The group was charged with collecting levies from coal transporters and contractors in the Amrapali-Magadh mining areas to fund the illicit activities of the Tritiya Prastuti Committee (TPC), a banned organization with connections to the Naxal insurgency.

Among the convicted, five individuals received the harshest punishment of ten years rigorous imprisonment, six were sentenced to eight years, and one individual faced a five-year term. The sentences are a culmination of a December 2018 NIA indictment that targeted a network for exploiting coal mining operations within Chatra district's Tandwa Police Station limits.

The complex criminal proceedings, spanning multiple years, saw the completion of trials against 13 indicted individuals, with the testimony of 119 prosecution witnesses becoming pivotal in securing the convictions. Despite a recent acquittal of one accused, the August 12, 2026, verdict underscores the judiciary's firm stance against organized crime and illegal levies in Jharkhand's resource-rich regions.