Odisha Police unearths Maoist weapons dump near Chhattisgarh border

Odisha Police unearthed a Maoist dump near a forest in Malkangiri district bordering Chhattisgarh and recovered a huge cache of explosives, officials said on Wednesday.

The seized items include six landmines weighing 40kg, 150 gelatin sticks, a countrymade gun, IEDs and ammunition, IEDs, and other articles, police said.

Acting on specific information, Odisha's Police's Special Operation Group (SOG) and District Voluntary Force (DVF) conducted a search operation in Mathili area, resulting in the unearthing of the Maoist dump near a forest between Tulasi and Kirimiti villages around 4.30pm on Tuesday, police said.

"This is a major jolt to the subversive and anti-national design of Maoists in this area. We suspect that these explosives belong to the Maoist cadres of Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC) and they were intended to be used against civilians and security forces," a statement by Malkangiri police said.

Further combing and search operations are continuing in the area, said Malkangiri SP Nitish Wadhwani.