Mining company-Maoist nexus uncovered in Odisha: Explosives trail leads to hidden hands

A revelation by Odisha’s intelligence agencies suggests that some mining companies are secretly supplying explosives to Maoist outfits in the State. As the anti-Naxal operations intensify nationwide, police have uncovered a deepening nexus threatening the regional security and prompting a sweeping state-level probe.

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According to sources, in a startling development, the State intelligence has unearthed evidence linking certain mining companies to Maoist insurgents. These firms, operating under fake identities or Benami ownership, are allegedly supplying explosives to the weakened yet still dangerous Maoist organisations.

The disclosure surfaced after police in Ganjam district’s Chamakhandi locality seized 10 tons of illegal explosives from a cattle shed in Jagannathpur village yesterday. Initial interrogation and evidence point towards a well-orchestrated network where quarry-based explosive consignments were being diverted to Maoist factions operating in deep forests.

According to ADG (Anti-Naxal Operations) Sanjeeb Panda, the huge cache of explosives seized from Ganjam district match those recovered earlier on July 17 from the dense Gumma forests in Kandhamal district. Both caches have been traced back to a single company — APEX Boost, owned by AP Explosives Pvt. Ltd., allegedly operating without proper licenses and sourcing materials from Andhra Pradesh.

Three individuals have been arrested in connection with the illegal transport and storage of explosives, and their interrogation has revealed critical links to the Maoist network. These developments have alarmed the police, prompting a statewide inspection of all mining and quarrying operations, not just in Maoist-affected areas, but across Odisha.

The motive behind this illicit supply chain is under intense scrutiny. Investigators are probing whether mining operators are colluding with Maoists out of fear or driven by financial greed. The Centre has set a March 2026 deadline to make India Maoist-free, intensifying crackdowns in red zones.

With Maoist strength on the decline, the red rebels appear desperate to stage high-profile attacks to reassert dominance. The support they receive — allegedly from mining mafias — could be enabling them to stockpile arms and regroup.

In earlier incidents, such as the looting of explosive-laden trucks in Sundargarh, police had also discovered evidence pointing to similar corporate-Naxal links. Now, a string of such events is reinforcing suspicion about a larger, more coordinated mining company-Maoist nexus.

The State police and anti-Naxal agencies are ramping up vigilance and operations. Security forces believe that exposing this collusion is crucial to dismantling the insurgent supply chain and ensuring peace in Odisha’s vulnerable regions.

“We have recovered explosives weighing around 9.4 tonnes in Tumudibandha of Kandhamal district. Last month, we also recovered around 600 detonators from a Maoist dump. Both (the seized explosives) are of the same brand. Hence, this indicates, the explosives were perhaps being supplied to the Maoists,” the ADG expressed to mediapersons.