Rayagada: In a major breakthrough in anti-Maoist operations, security forces have unearthed a large Maoist dump in the Raghubari Reserved Forest under Ambadola police station limits in Rayagada district, recovering a significant cache of arms, ammunition, and Maoist materials, police said on Saturday.
Addressing mediapersons, Rayagada Superintendent of Police Raj Prasad stated that the recovery was made during a joint operation conducted by the District Voluntary Force (DVF) and the Special Operations Group (SOG), based on intelligence inputs gathered during the interrogation of 16 Maoists who had recently surrendered.
Acting on specific information, the joint team carried out a search operation in the forest area, which concluded on July 2. After identifying a suspected location, the bomb disposal squad was engaged, following which the hidden dump was unearthed.
The seized items include .303 rifles, parts of Sten guns, 37 rounds of .303 ammunition, 25 rounds of 9 mm ammunition, country-made firearms, Sten magazines, cordex wires, gunpowder, Maoist literature, and several daily-use materials.
Preliminary investigation suggests that the recovered materials belong to the Bansadhara–Ghumusar–Nagabali division of the banned CPI (Maoist) organisation.
SP Prasad further stated that Maoist presence in the district has been significantly weakened, but search and combing operations will continue in the coming days to ensure the complete elimination of left-wing extremist activity. A similar dump was recovered earlier on June 13 from the Dhepaguda Reserved Forest.
Speaking to reporters, SP Raj Prasad said that since January 2025, 16 hardcore Maoists, including senior cadres, have surrendered in Rayagada district. Their interrogation is ongoing in coordination with multiple agencies, leading to continuous intelligence-based operations and further recoveries.
He added that during the latest operation, several Maoist paraphernalia items such as umbrellas, blankets, salt, shoes, clothing, literature, and other essential supplies were also seized from the dump site.
SP Prasad said anti-Maoist operations in the region will continue based on intelligence inputs and surveillance in forested and remote areas.
