ROURKELA: In a major breakthrough, the ongoing joint search operation along the Odisha-Jharkhand border on Monday led to the further detection and recovery of a fresh tranche of around 2.5 tonnes of explosives looted by members of the outlawed CPI (Maoist) outfit.
Most of the industrial explosive packets, in the form of gelatin sticks, were found stacked in and around the paths used by Maoist operatives in the hilly and treacherous terrain of the dense Saranda forest in West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand.
Police sources informed that a few explosive packs were found lying in the forest on the Sundargarh side of the border in Odisha, under the jurisdiction of the Rourkela Police District (RPD), while the majority of the other packets were kept hidden in the Saranda forest close to the Odisha border.
It appeared that due to the immediate launch of the search operation after the loot, the Maoists did not get enough time and room to carry away the explosive packets to faraway locations inside the Saranda forest and hide them safely. Since the hijacking and loot of the explosive truck carrying about four tonnes of explosives on May 27 morning from the Banko forest of K Balang police station under the RPD limits, the joint search operation has been ongoing.
The Special Operation Group and District Voluntary Force (DVF), CRPF, Jharkhand Jaguar and CoBRA from Jharkhand, are participating in the combing operation.
Rourkela SP Nitesh Wadhwani, without specifying the spots of recovery, said a fresh tranche of 2.5 tonnes of explosives was recovered during the ongoing search operation along the Odisha-Jharkhand border. He said these explosives were looted by the Maoists on May 27.
Earlier, following an exchange of fire with the Maoist ultras at Saranda’s Tirilposi under Jareikela police limits in Jharkhand, the joint forces had recovered a substantial quantity of the looted explosives on May 30, but details were not revealed, claiming that assessment was underway.
Meanwhile, two other mini-trucks laden with similar explosive packets originating from the same explosive warehouse in Bargaon block of Sundargarh were seized by police from near Balughat at Rourkela on Sunday. Police claimed that on May 27, three trucks had come out from the Bargaon explosive storage point, and after the loot of one truck, the warehouse owner, Shraban Agarwal, lied to the police about the delivery of the other two trucks. Police said it seems the other two trucks were kept hidden with the intention to sell the explosives later for higher monetary gain.
DIG (Western Range) Brijesh Kumar Rai said a detailed inquiry is being carried out by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) about the release and delivery of explosives from the now-sealed warehouse. He said the concerned authorities have been asked to conduct a safety audit of all explosive storage centers or magazines in Sundargarh, adding that a necessary SOP is also getting implemented for the issue and transport of explosives.