Sundargarh: In a major achievement in the battle against Maoists, security forces successfully recovered around 2.5 tonnes of explosive materials hidden by the ultras in a remote forest area near Koida in Odisha’s Sundargarh district on Monday.
Acting on intelligence inputs about Maoist activities in the area, the joint operation was conducted by personnel from COBRA Battalion, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), and Special Operations Group (SOG).
As per information, the explosives were found inside the dense forest of Tiriliposh under the jurisdiction of Jareikela police station. The Maoist insurgents had buried the explosives underground, cleverly concealing them from aerial and ground surveillance, officials said.
The seized materials included different types of explosives and were apparently intended to be used in major attacks by the red rebels against security forces, infrastructure, or public places.
After thorough of combing the terrain with the help of metal detectors and sniffer dogs, the security personnel unearthed the hidden materials. The seized materials are being analysed to ascertain the composition and possible origin.
Efforts are on to ascertain whether the explosives recovered wre part of the major cache looted from Sundargarh district last week.
It may be noted that the operation was carried out in the wake of a recent incident in which Maoists looted around 4 tonnes of explosives from Banko stone quarry under K. Balang police limits in Sundargarh on Tuesday.
Major portions of looted explosives were recovered on Friday following an exchange of fire between security personnel and Naxalite insurgents in the border region of Jharkhand. The fierce gunfight erupted in a forest around 20 kilometres inside the neighbouring state. Combing operations were simultaneously started from both Odisha and Jharkhand sides.
