Hand-held thermal imager recovered from Naxal hideout

Security forces have recovered a hand-held thermal imager -- used by troops for night surveillance purposes -- from a Naxal hideout in Ranchi district.

Security forces have recovered a hand-held thermal imager -- used by troops for night surveillance purposes -- from a Naxal hideout in Ranchi district.

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According to sources, a squad of CRPF personnel raided a Maoist hideout in Gayaraja forests of the district on Tuesday and recovered the surveillance device along with one 10 kg can bomb, two armour plates used in bullet proof jackets, few compact discs, black uniforms and 500 metres of electric wire.

Senior officials of state police and CRPF are trying to ascertain as to how this device could have reached the Naxals.

A hand-held thermal imager is used to spot human movement in the dark and it works by emitting infra red radiation which picks up body heat to send the image back into the camera.

Security personnel in Naxal zones and Army soldiers along the Indian borders also use this device to spot infiltrators and check the movement along the border fence.