ROURKELA: Security forces recovered huge quantities of the looted explosives following an exchange of fire with the Maoists inside Saranda forest near Tirilposh in West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand, around 20 km from Sundargarh border, on Friday.
The recovery came three days after armed Maoists hijacked an explosives-laden truck from the forested Banko area under K Balang police limits in Sundargarh on Tuesday morning. The rebels drove the vehicle about one km inside the forest and decamped with the blasting gelatin sticks weighing nearly four tonne.
Sources said the site of the loot is hardly two km from Saranda forest in Jharkhand and the Friday’s encounter spot is nearly 20 km from Sundargarh border. It seems due to initiation of combing operation on both sides of the border immediately after the loot, the Maoists did not have time to shift the explosive packets elsewhere. It is likely that the explosive packets may have been kept hidden in the forest.
Requesting anonymity, a senior police officer said the exchange of fire started early on Tuesday afternoon and was still going on intermittently. A major portion of the looted explosives was found lying near the spot of encounter.
DIG (Western Range) Brijesh Kumar Rai confirmed that huge quantities of the looted explosives and Maoist materials have been recovered. Three joint teams of security forces of Odisha and Jharkhand participated in the intense search operations along the border at different places. One team was involved in the gun battle after being challenged by the Maoists. The exchange of fire and search operation is still underway and details would be shared accordingly.
Unofficial sources claimed one security personnel was injured in the cross firing. However, there is no official confirmation yet.
Earlier on Thursday, a National Investigation Agency (NIA) team visited Rourkela for investigation considering the sensitive nature of the incident. A day after the loot, Odisha DGP YB Khurania reached Rourkela and took stock of the situation with the IG (Operation) Deepak Kumar, DIG Rai and Rourkela SP Nitesh Wadhwani.
The recent activities by ultras based out of Jharkhand on Odisha side of the border comes after a hiatus of almost five years with the banned CPI (Maoist) outfit deliberately refraining from drawing attention of Rourkela police manning the Naxal-infested bordering pockets.
The Maoists led by top leader Misir Besra are faced with existential threat with security forces targeting to eliminate Naxal activities by March 2026. The explosive loot is seen as a last ditch effort of the Maoists to fight the security forces.