Odisha: Police recover part of 1.5 tonne explosives looted by Maoists from Saranda forests

8 armed persons hijacked truck laden with gelatin stocks near a forested stone quarry at Banko, drove the vehicle to a nearby forest, unloaded the explosives and allowed the truck driver to go

Published on: May 31, 2025, 10:35:23 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

Prefer HTon Google

Share via

Copy link

Bhubaneswar: Three days after suspected Maoists looted around 1.5 tonnes of gelatin sticks from a truck near the Odisha-Jharkhand border, security forces have recovered a portion of the stolen explosives during a joint combing operation in the dense Saranda forests, police officers said on Friday.

Nine teams of the special operations group of the Odisha police, Jaguar team of the Jharkhand police, CRPF, and CoBRA started a joint operation in the area. (PTI/ Representational image)

“On Friday afternoon, the teams found some of the looted explosives 3 km inside the Jharkhand border inside Saranda forest. We have not assessed the exact amount so far as operations are still going on. By Saturday evening, we would know the exact amount that we could recover,” a senior official of Rourkela police said.

On Tuesday, eight armed persons had hijacked a truck laden with gelatin stocks near a forested stone quarry at Banko, within K. Balang police limits of Rourkela, and drove the vehicle to a nearby forest where they unloaded the explosives and allowed the truck driver to go. The truck driver told the police that another 10–15 people waiting inside the forest then looted at least 150 packets of explosives, each weighing 15 to 25 kg.

Nine teams of the special operations group of the Odisha police, Jaguar team of the Jharkhand police, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), and Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) started a joint operation in the area, resulting in a few encounters.

Also Read:NIA probes suspected Maoist links in loot of gelatin sticks in Odisha

The police said that the looted gelatins, meant for the stone quarry, were in slurry form. The gelatin sticks can be used as IEDs if there are enough detonators with them. “From our investigation, it is certain that Maoists from Saranda forest did it. That’s why the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has started probing the loot,” a senior police official of Rourkela said.

The police suspect the loot to be a retaliatory move by the Maoists after their top commanders, including Maoist leader Basavaraj u, were killed in Narayanpur forest of Chhattisgarh last week. “The amount that they have looted is too much for them to handle and carry around. Besides, they normally burn down the vehicles after looting, which they have not done in this case. We are working in coordination with the NIA team,” an officer said.

Also Read: Forces raze memorials in Maoist citadels

In one of the biggest-ever loot incidents, Maoists in April 2009 had looted about 25 tonnes of explosives, including ammonium nitrate and detonators, from the explosive warehouse of Nalco, manned by CISF jawans. 11 CISF jawans were killed in that attack.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

Get the latest India News, breaking headlines and real-time updates from across the country. Stay informed about politics, government policies, crime, weather and major national developments.