Security forces recover more than half of 4 tonnes explosives looted by Maoists

The industrial explosive packets, in the form of gelatin sticks, were found stacked in and around the paths used by Maoists in the hilly terrain of the dense Saranda forest on Jharkhand-Odisha border

Published on: Jun 2, 2025, 17:37:16 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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Bhubaneswar: A week after Maoists looted 4 tonnes of industrial explosives meant for stone quarry on Odisha-Jharkhand border, security forces on Monday recovered around 2.5 tonnes of it during a joint search operation carried out by Odisha police, CoBRA and Jaguar from Jharkhand and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

On Tuesday, eight armed Maoists hijacked around 4 tonnes of gelatin from a truck from near a forested stone quarry at Banko of Sundargarh district in Odisha.

Police officials in Odisha said the industrial explosive packets, in the form of gelatin sticks, were found stacked in and around the paths used by Maoist operatives in the hilly terrain of the dense Saranda forest in West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand. While a few packs were found lying in the forest on the Sundargarh side of Odisha, most of the other packets were kept hidden in the Saranda forest close to the Odisha border.

On Tuesday, eight armed Maoists had hijacked around 4 tonnes of gelatin from a truck from near a forested stone quarry at Banko of Sundargarh district in Odisha and drove the vehicle to a nearby forest where they unloaded the explosives and allowed the truck driver to go. The truck driver told police that another 10-15 persons waiting inside the forest then looted at least 150 packets of explosives each weighing 15 to 25 kg.

“Due to the immediate launch of the search operation by the security forces, the Maoists could not get enough time to carry away the explosive packets to faraway locations inside the Saranda forest and had to bury the same,” said a senior official of the Odisha police. On Friday too, the security forces had recovered some amount of the explosives that were looted.

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

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