Bhubaneswar: Odisha Police registered two major successes in separate operations, recovering a large cache of Maoist arms and explosives from a forest area in Koraput district and solving an armed robbery case in Ganjam district within 24 hours of the crime.
In Koraput, police unearthed a Maoist dump in the Badalipahad forest under Baipariguda police station limits and seized a substantial quantity of weapons, explosives and other materials believed to belong to Maoist cadres operating in the Andhra-Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee (AOBSZC) area.
According to an official press note, the operation was launched by the District Voluntary Force (DVF) based on information gathered during the interrogation of surrendered Maoists. During a search operation in the forest area, security personnel located the concealed dump and recovered several incriminating items.
The seized materials included one INSAS rifle, six country-made guns, an 18-kg claymore mine, a 10-kg tiffin bomb improvised explosive device (IED), six tiffin bomb IEDs weighing around 4 kg each, a Maoist kit bag and various articles used in daily operations.
Police suspect that the recovered arms and explosives were stockpiled for use by Maoist cadres active in the Andhra-Odisha border region. The recovery is being viewed as a significant setback to the remnants of Maoist activity in the area.
In a separate operation, Ganjam Police solved a sensational armed robbery case reported from an farmhouse near Gokulpalli under Kabisuryanagar police station and arrested seven accused persons within 24 hours.
According to police, six armed miscreants entered the farmhouse of Rajanikant Mishra on the evening of June 19. The accused allegedly held family members at gunpoint, tied them up and fled with around 15 tolas of gold ornaments, Rs 12,000 in cash and two mobile phones.
Following the complaint, Kabisuryanagar Police registered a case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Arms Act and launched an investigation.
Acting on the directions of the Ganjam Superintendent of Police, a special team comprising personnel from Kabisuryanagar Police Station, Polasara, Balipadar Outpost and Aska Police Station was formed. With the assistance of scientific and fingerprint experts, investigators collected evidence and carried out raids based on intelligence inputs.
The operation led to the arrest of seven accused identified as Santosh Mahapatra, Manoranjan Gouda, Rudranarayan Sethi, Shubham Raut, Jitendra Khatei alias Hina, Dutikrushna Nayak and Rajib Kumar Das.
Police recovered the looted articles, mobile phones, two motorcycles, a country-made pistol and three live rounds of ammunition allegedly used in the crime.
Two other accused, identified as Hitesh Swain and Sweta Khatei, are absconding. Police said efforts are underway to trace and apprehend them.
The arrested persons have been produced before the court, while further investigation into the case is continuing.
