Police said a joint operation by Odisha Police, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Special Jharkhand Jaguar Unit had successfully confiscated 2.5 of the four tons of explosives looted by some Maoists on 27 May.
Inspector General of Police (Western Range) said that some explosive gelatin rods were seized from a Maoist hideout in a forest near Koida in Sundargarh district on the Odisha-Jharkhand border, during a search operation on Friday, said Brijesh Rai.
A senior police officer said, “To hide explosives from aerial and ground surveillance, the Maoists turned underground the explosives. An intense discovery and intelligence input helped us to seize the explosives. Efforts are being made to fix the remaining explosives,” said a senior police officer.
Police sources said that the police examined the seized material to determine their composition and the original place, from where the consignment was sent.
An armed group of 25–30 “Maoists” looted four tons of explosive gelatin rods from an explosive truck, which was on the way to a stone mine in Banko on 27 May. The mine is inside the Sarda forests-one area which is the border of West Sinhabham district of Jharkhand.
A search operation was soon started to track explosives.
Meanwhile, the Odisha Police established a Special Investigation Team (SIT) for investigation, while the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which also launched a parallel investigation in the incident, sent a team to the place of robbery on 27 May on 27 May.
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Odisha Director General YB Khurania camped in Rourkela for two days and held several meetings with senior police officers to monitor the operation to fix the looted explosives. The DGP also instructed the police to pursue security measures in weak areas.
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