Phulbani: In a major in the battle against Maoists, police seized around ten tons of explosive materials and arrested three persons in connection with the case in Tumudibandha area of Odisha’s Kandhamal district.
Acting on a tip-off, a police patrol team intercepted a pickup van at Rampur Chhak near Tumudibandh on Sunday night. On checking, they recovered 6.9 tons of gelatine sticks, 2.5 tons of
Apex boosters, 4,000 detonators, 43 electric wires, 38 cordex, two batteries, Rs 2.80 lakh in cash, and Rs one lakh transferred online.
The van driver, Alok alias Albut Kumar Patra of Taladantalingi village in Ganjam, was arrested on the spot. During interrogation, he revealed that the consignment was meant for Shaktiranjana Das of Jaleshwar Mandirpada near Bhawanipatna in Kalahandi.
The explosives had been sourced from Hemant Sethi of Ambapua near Berhampur, who was illegally procuring stock from Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh. All three accused were forwarded to court on Monday.
Based on the leads, police raided Hemant’s godown at Jagannathpur village under Chamakhandi police limits near Berhampur, where the explosives had been stored before being transported to various districts. None of the accused could produce valid documents for the seized materials.
Baliguda SDPO Ramendra Prasad and Tumudibandh IIC Ashutosh Jena told reporters that the racket had been supplying explosives to stone quarries for nearly two years.
However, given the Maoist presence in Tumudibandha and Kotagarh areas along the Kandhamal-Kalahandi border, police have not ruled out the possibility that some consignments may have reached left-wing extremists.
Sources said police also suspect a link between some mining firms and Maoists. As per information, the security personnel had found similar explosives from a Maoist dump in Gumma Reserve Forest in Kadhamal around a month ago.
A case has been registered at Tumudibandha police station and further investigation is in progress.
