Maoist arms dump unearthed along Odisha-AP border

Security forces on Sunday unearthed a major Maoist arms dump in the forested border region of Odisha’s Malkangiri district, recovering a large cache of firearms, explosives, communication equipment and other incriminating materials believed to belong to Maoist cadres.

The recovery was made during an intensive search operation by the District Voluntary Force (DVF) in the forests of Gunthabada and Kadamguda under Kalimela police station limits. The operation was launched on the basis of information gathered during the interrogation of surrendered Maoists. The area lies along the Odisha-Andhra Pradesh border, adjoining Motugudem and Donkarai police station limits in Andhra Pradesh’s Alluri Sitharama Raju district.

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The seized items included two Self-Loading Rifles (SLRs), three pistols, a .303 rifle barrel, two Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), a Claymore mine, four Barrel Grenade Launcher (BGL) shells, cartridges, seven walkie-talkies with accessories, 45 pen drives, a hard disk, ammunition pouches, batteries, power banks, a medicine kit and other materials suspected to have been used for storing or fabricating explosives.

Police said the recovered weapons and explosives were suspected to belong to cadres of the Andhra-Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee (AOBSZC) and were likely intended for attacks on civilians and security forces.

This is the third major Maoist dump recovered in Malkangiri this month. Earlier, security forces recovered a cache of INSAS weapons, IEDs and grenades from Mathili on June 9, followed by another haul comprising Sten carbines, a pistol, IEDs and UBGL grenades from the Podia area on June 15.

Officials said Malkangiri had been declared free of active Maoist presence by March 31 this year. Security forces, including the Special Operations Group (SOG) and DVF, are continuing combing operations to trace hidden arms dumps and prevent any resurgence of Left Wing Extremist activities.