Sundargarh: Odisha police have arrested the prime accused in the hijack of an explosives-laden truck from near a stone quarry at Banko within K Balang police limits last month.
The arrested has been identified as George Munda, a Kulu Munda village resident with Maoist ties.
According to sources, he was not only part of the loot but also allegedly informed the Maoist group about the movement and delivery of explosives in the area. The breakthrough came after the interrogation of Shravan Agarwal and his wife Nikita Agarwal, who were arrested after the two explosives-laden trucks were found parked outside a fuel station at Deogaon near Balughat on June 1.
“A Special Investigation Team, led by the Additional SP, conducted forensic analysis, telecom scrutiny, and interrogations, recovering 3,811.30 kg explosives along the Odisha-Jharkhand border. It was also found that a person from the same area, George Munda, passed vital information to the Maoists because of his vested interests, facilitating the heist,” DIG (Western Range) Brijesh Kumar Rai told the media.
He further stated that he was identified as the key conspirator following interrogation of the suspects. Further investigation is underway to identify and apprehend other conspirators involved in the attack, he added.
Preliminary investigation had suggested that a group led by Maosit Anmol alias Lalchand Hembram was behind the explosives loot incident. It was seen as a possible act of desperation amid apprehension among Maoists that security forces will turn their focus on Saranda forests after Abujhmad in Chhattisgarh with the Centre aiming to eradicate Naxalism by March 2026. The incident had raised alarm about possible IED attacks on forces in a bid to retaliate after a series of setbacks.