Bhubaneswar: While Odisha police have recovered 75% (3.8 tonnes) of the stolen explosives, preliminary investigation suggest involvement of a group led by Maoist Anmol alias Lalchand Hembram behind the May 27 incident in Sundargarh district.
He is a state committee member of the banned CPI (Maoist) with bounties of Rs 15 lakh in Jharkhand and Rs 20 lakh in Odisha.
Hailing from Itwabeda Jarwa village in Jharkhand, Anmol previously operated in the Bihar-Jharkhand-Odisha region and led Maoist activities in Odisha’s Sambalpur-Deogarh-Sundargarh division until 2018-19, orchestrating attacks on security forces.
“Nearly three quarters of the stolen explosives have already been recovered. A Special Investigation Team, led by an Additional SP, has been constituted to probe the incident. This operation marks a significant achievement for the security forces. A coordinated operation, involving the Odisha Police, Jharkhand Police, and the CRPF, is still underway in the deep forests to recover the remaining explosives,” DGP Y B Khurania told the media.
He added Maoists involved in the explosives loot have been identified and efforts are on to arrest them.
According to sources, the loot of explosives was possibly a desperate act by the Left-wing extremists as they feared that security forces would shift their attention to the Maoist stronghold of Saranda forests after targeting Abujhmad in Chhattisgarh, amid the ongoing operation to eradicate Naxalism by March 31, 2026.
Notably, Sundargarh, free from Maoist activities and violence for over 10 years, was removed from the left-wing extremism (LWE) affected areas list and the Centre’s security-related expenditure (SRE) scheme last year.
On May 27, an armed group of 25-30 “Maoists”hijacked an explosives-laden truck from Banko stone quarry in the K Balang area of Sundargarh district and looted five tonnes of explosive gelatin sticks, raising fear that these could be used for subversive activities. They were then suspected to have entered from neighbouring state, given the Banko quarry’s proximity to Maoist-active areas of West Singhbhum district in Jharkhand.
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