Security forces have recovered two large Maoist arms and explosives caches hidden in the forests of Bijapur district in Chhattisgarh during intelligence-based search operations conducted on Thursday, officials said — 711 barrel grenade launcher (BGL) shells in one location and 955 detonators with electronic equipment in another.

Source: IANS via hi INDiA

The bigger recovery was made near the KG Hills in the Karregutta area, about 1.5 kilometres northwest of the Forward Operating Base at Tadapala, which falls under the Usur police station limits. A joint team of the Bijapur District Police, a CRPF battalion and a CoBRA unit, acting on specific intelligence, combed the dense forest and located the stockpile of 711 BGL shells concealed in the forest, Sambad English reported. All the shells were secured and taken into official custody under explosive-handling protocols.

Source: Sambad English

Officials described the BGL recovery as a major setback to Maoist logistics in the Bastar region, since the shells are used to launch grenades in ambushes and attacks on security camps. Authorities have advised residents and visitors to strictly avoid Karregutta and the surrounding hills for the time being, warning that improvised explosive devices or unexploded ordnance left behind by insurgents may still be present. A systematic demining and explosive-clearance operation is planned before restrictions on public movement are lifted.

In the second operation, a combined team of the District Force and a CoBRA battalion, acting on intelligence provided by the intelligence wing of a CoBRA battalion, searched the hilly forest terrain southeast of Pujarikanker village, also under Usur police station limits, and unearthed a suspicious underground cache, Additional Superintendent of Police (Bijapur) Rahul Bansal said, according to IANS.

The second cache contained 455 electric detonators and 500 non-electric detonators, along with electronic and supporting items including multimeters, radio-set battery charger cradles, copper prototyping boards, antennas, a relay control circuit board, about eight metres of electric wire and Maoist literature, the official said. He said the material appeared to have been stored for future attacks or for manufacturing improvised explosive devices, and that the sophisticated components pointed to preparations for advanced communication and triggering systems.

All the recovered explosives, electronic devices and literature have been formally seized by the Usur police station, and further investigation and legal proceedings have been initiated, IANS reported. Officials said security forces remain on high alert in the region and are continuing intensive anti-Maoist operations based on real-time intelligence inputs.