Daijiworld Media Network – Bijapur

Bijapur, May 11: Chhattisgarh Police have recovered a large cache of explosives, weapons and equipment allegedly hidden by Maoists inside an underground bunker in a forested hill area near Dodi Tumnar village in Bijapur district, officials said on Monday.

The recovery operation was carried out on Sunday evening in the forest area under the limits of the Gangaloor police station.

According to officials, the seized materials included a country-made barrel grenade launcher (BGL), 29 BGL shells and nearly 50 metres of cordex wire used for triggering improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

Security personnel also recovered two generators, two lathe machines, an inverter, four batteries, eight solar panels, a motor, a welding machine, a drill machine and two plastic drums from the underground bunker.

Police said the operation was launched based on specific intelligence inputs regarding a Maoist hideout used to store explosive materials and equipment.

After detecting the bunker, security forces first carried out demining and safety procedures before retrieving the materials from the site.

Officials said security operations have been intensified across the Bastar region, which comprises seven districts including Bijapur, following the state government’s declaration that Chhattisgarh had become free from armed Maoist activity on March 31.

Based on information received from surrendered Maoists and intelligence gathered over recent months, security forces have recovered and defused hundreds of IEDs allegedly planted by Naxalites across the Bastar range.

In a recent incident on May 2, four police personnel, including an inspector of the District Reserve Guard (DRG), were killed in Kanker district after a hidden gunpowder dump allegedly left behind by Maoists exploded while security personnel were attempting to dispose of it.