BERHAMPUR: Security forces on Tuesday recovered Maoist arms and ammunition from a concealed dump in the forests of Kandhamal district.
Acting on intelligence inputs, teams comprising Special Operations Group (SOG) and District Voluntary Force (DVF) personnel launched a combing operation in the forested areas of Sitagurha, Ganjugurha, Kutibarhi, Gudrikya and Lanjam villages under the jurisdiction of Kotagarh, Baliguda and Tumudibandha police stations.
During the search, security personnel located a hidden Maoist dump in Kotagarh area. The team recovered one .303 rifle, two 12-bore guns, as many single-shot guns, and an 8 mm firearm with a wooden butt. The seized ammunition included one .303 magazine, 18 rounds of live .303 ammunition, 10 rounds of 12-bore cartridges, and 35 rounds of 8 mm ammunition.
Kandhamal SP Ramendra Prasad said although the district was declared Maoist-free by March 31, hidden arms and supply dumps left behind by the Naxals are still being traced and recovered through sustained combing operations.
He said regular area domination exercises by SOG, DVF, CRPF and BSF personnel are continuing to facilitate the recovery of concealed weapons and explosives and prevent any possible resurgence of Maoist activity in the region. This is the second Maoist dump unearthed in Kandhamal within a week. Earlier, security forces had recovered another cache of Maoist materials from Baliguda area.