BHUBANESWAR: Two days after suspected Maoists hijacked and looted a truck laden with a huge cache of blasting explosives, the National Investigation Agency's (NIA) officers visited Rourkela on Thursday to probe the incident along with Odisha Police.
"An NIA team has visited Rourkela to investigate the incident. Preliminary probe suggests the left-wing extremists from Maoist hotbed of Saranda forest in West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand were involved in the loot of the blasting explosives," western range DIG, Brijesh Rai told the mediapersons.
DGP YB Khurania who visited Rourkela on Wednesday to take stock of the investigation, has directed the police to beef up the security at vulnerable stone quarries. Sources said he has also instructed the senior officers to conduct a security audit of the stone quarries in such locations.
Besides this, Khurania has asked the police to verify the security arrangements at the forested stone quarry in Banko within K Balang police limits, from where at least eight armed persons hijacked the explosives-laden truck on Tuesday. The quarry is more than 90 km from Rourkela.
After hijacking the explosives-laden truck at around 9.30 am on Tuesday, the armed persons drove the vehicle to a nearby forest. Another 10-15 persons waiting inside the forest looted at least 150 packets of explosives each weighing 15 to 25 kg. The empty vehicle was later found abandoned inside the forest and its driver was unhurt.
Meanwhile, Rourkela police intensified combing operation along the Odisha-Jharkhand border. Senior officers IG (operations) Deepak Kumar, DIG (western range) Brijesh Kumar Rai and Sundargarh SP Pratyush Diwakar, also in charge of Rourkela are camping in the steel city.