AK-47, IED Among Huge Cache Of Arms Recovered From Maoist Dump In Odisha
The recovery was made during a joint search and area-domination operation in Silkuta Reserve Forest under K. Balang police station limits by personnel of the District Voluntary Force (DVF) and the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS).
Bhubaneswar: Security forces have recovered an AK-47 rifle, an improvised explosive device (IED), ammunition, detonators and communication equipment from a concealed Maoist dump in a forested area of Odisha’s Sundargarh district, police said on Monday.
The recovery was made during a joint search and area-domination operation in Silkuta Reserve Forest under K. Balang police station limits by personnel of the District Voluntary Force (DVF) and the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS).
According to police, the operation was launched after security personnel received specific information about the presence of a concealed Maoist dump during the interrogation of surrendered Naxals.
The security personnel searched the forest area and detected the dump, which police said had remained concealed for around four years. The cache contained arms, ammunition, explosives, communication devices and other materials allegedly used by Maoist cadres for their operations and camp activities.
Among the items recovered were one AK-47 rifle, one CM 9mm 1A1 carbine, one IED container, 15 detonators, two magazines, one Silling, a Motorola walkie-talkie, 20 rounds of 9mm ball ammunition, a Kaiweets KM100 digital multimeter and a battery charger.
Police also recovered a walkie-talkie frequency device and two pouches used for carrying walkie-talkies.
The recovery assumes significance amid intensified security operations aimed at dismantling Maoist networks and locating arms and other operational material hidden in forested areas along the Odisha-Jharkhand border.
Rourkela police said the operation involved coordination between security personnel from Odisha and Jharkhand. The recovery of communication equipment, ammunition and explosive-making or handling material from the concealed dump is expected to provide further leads about the activities and movement of Maoist cadres in the region.
Rourkela Superintendent of Police Nitesh Wadhwani said in a post on X that information obtained during the detailed interrogation of surrendered Naxals had led security personnel to the location of the concealed dump.
“Based on information received during the detailed interrogation of surrendered Naxals regarding the presence of a concealed Maoist dump, a joint team of DVF and BDDS conducted a search operation in Silkuta Reserve Forest under K. Balang PS,” he said.
The SP said the team subsequently detected and recovered the four-year-old concealed dump containing arms, ammunition, explosives, communication equipment and other Maoist camp-related articles.
The latest recovery comes as security agencies continue efforts to identify and neutralise Maoist hideouts and recover arms and explosives concealed in remote forest areas. Police are also examining the recovered material for possible clues about the Maoist network that operated in the area.
Further details about the operation and the identities of those linked to the recovered dump were awaited.
