Explosives Heist By Maoists: SIT Arrests Odisha Businessman
On May 28, when a group of armed Maoist insurgents intercepted a truck carrying commercial explosives and decamped with around four tonnes of explosive material.
Bhubaneswar: In a significant breakthrough in the probe into last week’s Maoist explosives heist in Sundargarh district, police on Tuesday arrested Shravan Agrawal, the owner of the Badgaon-based explosives warehouse.
The arrest comes after several rounds of intense interrogation by the Special Investigation Team (SIT), which had earlier detained Agrawal at the Raghunathpali police station in Rourkela. It is not immediately known if the businessman was arrested for his complicity with the Red rebels or negligence of not sending an adequate number of security personnel while dispatching the consignment of explosives to a stone quarry.
Authorities have also detained the driver of the truck that was transporting the explosives before being intercepted by Maoists. The warehouse had been sealed by police shortly after the incident, which had triggered nationwide concern over security lapses in the region.
The incident occurred on May 28, when a group of armed Maoist insurgents intercepted a truck carrying commercial explosives destined for the Banko stone quarry under K. Balang police station limits. The attackers reportedly decamped with around four tonnes of explosive material, including nearly 150 packets of gelatin sticks, raising fears of potential attacks in Odisha and neighbouring states.
Preliminary investigations suggest the ambush was meticulously planned and executed near a forested stretch, with the truck hijacked mid-route.
In the aftermath, a four-member SIT was formed to lead the investigation, while the National Investigation Agency (NIA) was brought in to assist, given the implications for national security.
A massive joint combing operation was subsequently launched by personnel from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Special Operations Group (SOG), and the elite COBRA unit. Security forces managed to recover over three tonnes of the looted explosives following a fierce exchange of fire with the Maoists in dense forest areas along the Odisha-Jharkhand border. A significant cache was unearthed from the Tiriliposh forest in Koida, Sundargarh, where the explosives had been buried underground using sophisticated concealment techniques to avoid detection.
Experts are currently analysing the recovered explosives to ascertain their composition, origin, and possible intended targets.
The Odisha Police, in coordination with their counterparts in Jharkhand and West Bengal, have tightened border security and stepped up surveillance in Maoist-affected areas. The SIT continues its investigation to track down others linked to the transportation, diversion, and handling of explosives from licensed warehouses.
