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The Print
15-06-2025
- The Print
Odisha police arrests mastermind in explosives loot case
Munda was passing important information to the Maoists. He was the main conspirator from the beginning of the loot and actively passed information to the Maoists, said DIG (Western Range) Brijesh Rai. The arrested accused has been identified as George Munda alias Kulu (43) from Banko village under K Balang police station. Rourkela (Odisha), Jun 15 (PTI) Odisha police on Sunday arrested the prime accused and mastermind behind the loot of five tonne of explosives by Maoists from a vehicle near a store quarry in Sundergarh district on May 27, an official said. During the investigation, George's complicity was found by the police. He was living just opposite to the quarry and was objecting to it, which was closed down subsequently, Rai said. It was he who had passed the information regarding the movement of the vehicle with explosives and ensured that the loot was carried out without any problem, the police said. Around 200 packets of explosives, mostly gelatin sticks, were looted by Maoists at gun-point on May 27 while those were being transported to a stone quarry for blasting rocks. A day after the looting, Odisha DGP Y B Khurania and other senior police officers visited the spot and an NIA team also started investigating the matter. Odisha Police have also constituted an SIT (Special Investigation Team) to probe into the incident. Security personnel on May 30 recovered a substantial amount of the explosives looted by Maoists in Sundergarh district following a fierce gun battle with the red rebels. They found the stolen explosives in a dense forest in Jharkhand, around three km from the Odisha border. So far, 3.8 tonne of explosives have been recovered while search is still going on to recover the remaining explosives, they said. PTI COR BBM RG This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
Hans India
06-06-2025
- Hans India
3.8 tonnes of looted explosives recovered: DGP
Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Police on Wednesday claimed to have so far recovered 3.8 tonnes of the 5 tonnes of explosives looted by Maoists from near a store quarry in Sundargarh district on May 27. Odisha DGP Yogesh Bahadur Khurania, while addressing a press conference, said of the 3.8 tonnes of explosives, one tonne of gelatin was recovered on Tuesday night. He said the State police, with assistance from CRPF, CoBRA, Jharkhand's Jaguar, and Odisha's SOG and District Voluntary Force (DVF), had launched the search operation in the nearby forests on the night of May 27. He lauded the security forces for their dedicated efforts in recovering the explosives. 'So far, we have recovered three-fourths of the explosives looted by Maoists and are optimistic about recovering the remaining explosives. The search operation is underway,' the DGP said. Earlier, DIG (Western Range) Brijesh Rai said the security personnel recovered 1,000 kg of explosives on Tuesday night. On Monday, around 2.5 tonnes of explosives were recovered, he said, adding that the explosives were buried in the dense jungle. A group of 25-30 Maoists robbed a truck transporting explosives to Banko stone quarry in K Balang area on May 27. 'The search operation is underway in the dense forests of adjoining Jharkhand,' Rai said. Meanwhile, Odisha Police arrested the owner of an explosive warehouse, Sraban Agarwal, and the driver of the truck, on Tuesday. Replying to a question, the DGP admitted that the SOP meant for carrying explosives was not adhered to when the incident took place. He said the police will inspect various magazines where explosives are stored in the three mineral-rich police districts of Sundargarh, Rourkela and Keonjhar. 'We will ensure that the SOP is adhered to while storing and transporting explosives,' he added.
Time of India
02-06-2025
- Time of India
Security forces recover 2.5 tonnes more of explosives looted by Maoists
1 2 3 Bhubaneswar: Security forces on Monday recovered another 2.5 tonnes of explosives, six days after Maoists looted a stone quarry truck in Sundargarh district. The joint operation led by Odisha police involved multiple agencies, including the special operations group (SOG), district voluntary force (DVF), India Reserve Battalion (IRB), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), and Jharkhand's Jaguars. By Friday, around 30 per cent of stolen materials had been recovered. "Odisha police have been working day and night on a sustained basis to ensure that the entire looted explosive consignment is recovered. All due care is being taken for safety of personnel searching for the explosive materials in the forest," said DGP Y B Khurania. The joint effort is being overseen by top police officers of both states. The recovery operation involved deep search metal detectors (DSMD) to locate explosives buried underground and concealed beneath dry leaves in a forest area along the Odisha-Chhattisgarh border, said DIG (western range) Brijesh Rai. "SOG is leading the other forces in the search operation. We still have 1.5 tonnes of explosives left to recover. There are natural craters in the forest, which the Maoists have used to hide the explosives. So far, we know that the ultras have hidden the explosives within a four km stretch of forest," the DIG added. Investigation earlier revealed that the quarry owner didn't follow the protocol to transport the explosives, as the route the truck moved was isolated. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch vàng CFDs với mức chênh lệch giá thấp nhất IC Markets Đăng ký Undo Police are also in the dark as Maoists removed the video recorder of CCTV installed in the quarry. According to police, quarry owner Shraban Agrawal has an explosive licence in his name and another in his wife's name. Police are probing the details of stocks and recent deliveries. On May 27, armed Maoists hijacked the explosives-laden truck from a place close to Banko stone quarry. They took the truck into the forest and fled with the explosive packets, which included mostly gelatine sticks and detonators used in stone blasting. The site of the loot was adjacent to Saranda forest, a Maoist den in West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand.
Indian Express
02-06-2025
- Indian Express
Maoists buried 2.5 tonnes of explosives to hide them from security forces
A joint operation by the Odisha police, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and specialised Jharkhand Jaguars unit has led to successful seizure of 2.5 of the four tonnes of explosives that were looted by some Maoists on May 27, police said. Some explosive gelatin sticks were seized from a Maoist hideout in a forest near Koida in Sundargarh district on the Odisha-Jharkhand border during a search operation Friday, Inspector General of Police (Western Range) Brijesh Rai said. 'To conceal explosives from aerial and ground surveillance, the Maoists buried the explosives underground. An intense search and intelligence inputs helped us to seize the explosives. Efforts are on to recover the remaining explosives,' said a senior police official. Police will examine the seized materials to determine its composition and place of origin from where the consignment was sent, said police sources. An armed group of 25-30 'Maoists' looted four tonnes of explosive gelatin sticks from an explosive-laden truck was on its way to a stone quarry at Banko on May 27. The quarry is inside the Saranda forests — an area bordering Jharkhand's West Singhbhum district. A search operation was launched soon to track down the explosives. Meanwhile, the Odisha Police instituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) for the probe while the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which also launched a parallel probe into the incident, sent a team to the spot of the May 27 loot. Odisha Director General of Police YB Khurania camped in Rourkela for two days and held multiple meetings with senior police officers to monitor operations to recover the looted explosives. The DGP had also directed police to step up security measures in vulnerable areas.
New Indian Express
30-05-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
NIA joins probe into Maoist loot of 4,000 kg explosives in Odisha's Sundargarh
BHUBANESWAR: Two days after suspected left-wing extremists (LWEs) looted a huge cache of explosives from a truck headed to a stone quarry in Sundargarh district, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday joined the investigation considering the sensitive nature of the incident. While security forces in neighbouring states have doubled down on anti-Naxals operations by targeting and eliminating key leadership of the outlawed outfit, the loot has come as a worry since Maoists operating in Jharkhand's Saranda forests rely on improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to carry out attacks. This prompted Odisha Police and its anti-Naxal agency Special Operation Group (SOG) to launch a major flush-out drive along the bordering region. 'An NIA team visited Rourkela to investigate the incident. Preliminary probe suggests left-wing extremists operating from Saranda forests in West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand were involved in the loot of the blasting explosives,' western range DIG, Brijesh Rai told mediapersons. Sources said looted explosives weighed about 4,000 kg. There were about 200 boxes consisting of blasting explosives. Each box had about nine gelatin sticks and weighed about 20 to 25 kg. 'As vigorous anti-Naxal operations are continuing in Chhattisgarh, the ultras are wary that security forces' next target could be their stronghold in Saranda forest,' said a senior police officer.
