By IANS,
Bhubaneswar : Security men conducting anti-Maoist opertions Thursday recovered landmines and explosives kept by left-wing extremists in the forests of Odisha, officials said.
The development comes a day after police killed five Maoists in the state’s Gajapati district in an exchange of fire.
While three landmines were recovered from a forested area in Kandhamal district, some tiffin bombs, gelatin sticks, wires and other materials used by rebels were found in the Narayanpatna area of Koraput district.
“We seized three land mines, of the size of 20, 15 and five kg respectively, in a forest near Singaranga village,” District Superintendent of Police Jayanarayan Pankaj said on the seizure that a joint team of police and the Central Reserve Police Force men made Kandhamal.
“The seizure was huge. Even just two kg of explosives used in the landmine could blow up a jeep,” he told IANS.
In another operation, a joint team of the Border Security Force (BSF) and Special Operation Group men spotted explosives, including 129 gelatin sticks and tiffin bombs, in Narayanpatna area in Koraput district.
District Superintendent of Police Avinash Kumar said the explosives and other materials were found during a forest search operation.
Five Maoists were killed and two policemen injured in a gunfight in a forest area under Mohana police station limits in Gajapati district Wednesday.
Kandhamal, Gajapati and Koraput are considered Maoist strongholds.