Bhubaneswar: In another breakthrough against residual Left-Wing Extremist (LWE) networks in Odisha, security forces recovered a huge cache of arms, ammunition, and explosives from a concealed Maoist dump in the dense forests of Badlipahad under Boipariguda police limits in Koraput district in early hours of Monday.
Acting on specific intelligence obtained from surrendered Maoists, a joint team of the District Voluntary Force (DVF), Special Operations Group (SOG) and Koraput Police launched a search operation around 5:30 am in the forested area near the Odisha-Chhattisgarh border, close to Nangur police limits in Bastar district. The recovered items included one INSAS rifle, six country-made guns, one 18 kg Claymore mine, one 10-kg tiffin bomb IED, six 4-kg tiffin bomb IEDs, a Maoist kit bag, Maoist literature, medicines, and food items.
These materials, which police believe belonged to cadres of the Andhra-Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee (AOBSZC) , were suspected to have been stored for potential attacks on civilians and security forces.
Addressing the media, Koraput SP Rohit Verma said that the timely action based on surrendered Maoists’ interrogation leads has dealt a blow to extremist activities in the region. Security forces have intensified combing operations in the surrounding areas to check for additional dumps, besides preventing any resurgence of extremist activities.
This recovery is particularly noteworthy as it comes months after Koraput district achieved its goal of becoming Maoist-free by March 31, aligning with the Union government’s deadline. One Maoist cadre was arrested while another surrendered in the district from January 2025 to March 2026.
Further investigation is underway to trace the exact origins of the seized items and identify any linked networks or additional caches in the tri-junction areas of Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and Andhra Pradesh.
Earlier this month, Kandhamal Police had unearthed a cache of Maoist arms, ammunition, and explosives from a remote forest dump. This came six days after security forces seized a huge quantity of arms and ammunition in Gangapadar, Kodamaha, Pajimaha, Tengeri and Balimaha areas of the district, following interrogation of surrendered Maoists. A large Maoist arms and explosives dump was also unearthed following an intensive search operation in the forests of Silakota, Perwai and Keskaguda under Podia police limits in Malkangiri.
