ROURKELA: In the wake of the hostage crisis, Jharkhand security forces manning the Maoist hub of Saranda forest along the Odisha-Jharkhand border have intensified security exercise.
A five-day intense combing operation of the vulnerable inaccessible pockets of Saranda in Jharkhand territory was wrapped up on Sunday evening.
CRPF DG K Bijay Kumar and other top officials were present during the exercise that simultaneously went on with ‘Civil Action Programme’.
Bijay Kumar was accompanied by CRPF’s IG DK Pandey, DIG Bhanu Pratap and a host of senior CPRF officials besides Jharkhand police’s Zonal IG MS Bhatia, West Singhbhum SP AK Singh and ASP Shambhu Kumar. Sources said till recently Saranda forest in Jharkhand territory has been the operational headquarters of the Eastern Regional Bureau of the banned CPI (Maoist) outfit. As an experimental peace offensive, the Union Rural Development Ministry has proposed to undertake massive development initiatives under the Saranda Action Plan as Minister Jairam Ramesh twice visited the area.
Meanwhile, the combing operation led to the seizure of 35 kg of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and a landmine from Chhota Nagra area of West Singhbhum district.