Malkangiri: CRPF and Chhattisgarh Police’s CoBRA jawans unearthed an illegal gun factory and a large cache of explosion and materials used in making weapons from a forest in Sukma district bordering Odisha’s Malkangiri district on Thursday.
Multi-barrel grenade launchers, 21 IEDs, bombs, generators and medical supplies were also seized from a Maoist dump in the forest during the joint operation. It is suspected that the outlawed Maoists were making their own weapons inside the forest to target the security forces.
According to the Chhattisgarh Police officials, seizure of such large cache of weapons and other items was possible due to the effectiveness of the canine squad and cooperation of the bomb disposal squad.
Meanwhile, this is the second major setback for the Red rebels in the region. During the last four days, the CoBRA jawans, SOG of Odisha Police and CRPF had neutralized at least 14 Maoists hiding in the Gariaband district of Chhattisgarh near Odisha-Chhattisgarh border. The Maoists killed included Jayaram alias Chalpati, a senior member of the CPI(Maoist) Central Committee who carried a bounty of Rs 1 crore.
Odisha DGP YB Khurania visited Kalahandi and Nuapada on Wednesday to assess the situation after the joint anti-Naxal operation. It is feared that the Maoists may retaliate after suffering such huge losses at the hands of the security forces.
