PHULBANI: The Border Security Forces (BSF) recovered an improvised explosive device (IED) from Takeriguda forest, located under Phringia police station, on Friday morning. The 99th battalion of BSF intensified its operations in the Takeriguda forest after receiving information about IED planted in the forest to target security personnel. After a 20-hour operation, the squad successfully recovered the IED which was concealed in a 2-litre tiffin box.
A senior police officer informed that other components, including 50 grams of gelatin, a 6-volt cosmos battery, a blade, 20 metres of electric wire, and tape, were also found and IED was safely defused. The operation was conducted jointly with a dog squad and a bomb disposal team after Maoist posters surfaced in various locations within the Phringia block of Kandhamal district on Thursday.
The Maoist organisation’s Kalahandi-Kandhamal-Boudh-Nayagarh (KKBN) division observed a 12-hour bandh in solidarity with those arrested in connection with the burning incident at Phringia police station. They also called for the legalisation of ganja cultivation to improve the economic conditions of the local population.