BHUBANESWAR: A huge haul of arms and ammunition, tipped to be the biggest so far, was seized by security forces from Maoist hideouts during search and area domination exercises in Left-Wing extremist-dominated Malkangiri’s Swabhiman Anchal.
At least 10 firearms and dozens of live ammunition were recovered after the exercises which followed an exchange of fire between the police and Maoists at Goiguda village district on January 15. Earlier, Odisha Police had launched an extensive operation against the Left ultras in the region between January 8 and 13 to provide security cover for the road construction activities. Teams of Odisha Police, BSF, CRPF’s CoBRA and Andhra Pradesh’s Grey Hounds participated in the counter LWE operation in the area.
Terming the seizure the biggest in the State, Director General of Police Abhay said major Maoist hideouts and dumps in Swabhiman Anchal and adjoining areas were unearthed during the operation.
After the exchange of fire, the security forces collected specific information from Maoist documents and electronic devices seized during the operation.
The Special Operation Group (SOG) and District Voluntary Force (DVF) teams of Odisha Police then launched vigorous search and area domination exercises.
In the next few days, the security forces recovered one INSAS light machine gun, three INSAS rifles, three carbine sten guns, one self-loading rifle (SLR), one .303 rifle, one pistol, 202 rounds of 5.56 mm ammunition, 59 rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition and 42 rounds of 9 mm ammunition.
Other weapons included eight INSAS magazines, four light machine gun (LMG) magazines, two SLR magazines, six carbine magazines and one .303 magazine.
Besides, they recovered two VHF sets-cum-scanners, one optical sight, one tiffin bomb along with explosives, 100 gram gun powder, five bundles of cordtex wire, and other articles from the spot. In 2014, the State Police had recoveed eight fire-arms from Maoists in Gajapati.
“We suspect the arms and ammunition were looted by Maoists of Andhra-Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee from the police in the past. However, this is under verification,” the DGP said. Police have intensified combing and area domination exercises in the region to uncover more Naxal hideouts, he added.
Odisha Police has planned to set up a new police station at Jodamba at a cost of Rs 2.5 crore. Currently, security forces are stationed a few km away at a camp in Kunturpadar area. Last month, Janturai villagers under Jodamba gram panchayat had confronted Maoists and their sympathisers after being cautioned for supporting the State Government’s various developmental works. In the ensuing clash, one extremist was killed and another sustained injuries. The Naxals had set few houses and vehicles of the villagers on fire.