RANCHI: Although Saranda is on the verge of becoming free from Maoist influence, the threat posed by Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) continues to loom large. Thousands of IEDs are believed to have been planted across the forest region by Maoists to obstruct the movement of security forces.
Notably, 25 senior Maoist commanders and members of the ‘strike squad’ operating under Central Committee members Misir Besra alias Sagar Ji and Asim Mandal in the Saranda region surrendered before the police in Ranchi on Thursday. Terming it a historic day, police officials said the Naxal problem will take a turn and soon come to an end.
According to police sources, even Maoist cadres themselves are unaware of the exact locations where many of these explosives were planted, as the task was reportedly carried out by a senior Central Technical Committee member and explosives expert, Tech Vishwanath, who recently surrendered before the Telangana Police.
According to police officials, the next six months are extremely critical because the batteries fitted in these IEDs generally remain active for nearly six months. During this, the devices can explode if subjected to heavy pressure.
They further added that once the six-month period passes, the batteries gradually discharge automatically, rendering the explosive mechanism inactive. Though only a very small number of Maoists are left in the Saranda region, security operations still continue.
The Jharkhand Jaguar and the Chaibasa Police will now conduct search operations with an objective to identify the specific locations where these IEDs were planted, and subsequently neutralise them. They are also taking help from the extremists, who previously served as section commanders in Misir Besra’s squad surrendered before the police to recover the IEDs.