Daijiworld Media Network - Bijapur/Raipur
Bijapur/Raipur, Sep 22: Security forces recovered a large cache of weapons, ammunition and other materials from an underground Naxal dump in the forests of Lanka Pahadi village under Bedre police station limits in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district on Monday.
The recovery was made during an intensive search and de-mining operation in the forested area, following intelligence inputs received as part of ongoing anti-Naxal operations.
Security personnel thoroughly searched the area and unearthed the carefully concealed dump. The recovered items included an SLR/LMG rifle, an INSAS rifle, a .315-bore gun, two BGL (barrel grenade launcher) launchers, 17 BGL shells, a Chinese hand grenade, 49 SLR rounds, 15 rounds of .315-bore ammunition, 15 BGL cartridges, four SLR magazines and one .315-bore magazine, besides other related equipment.
All the recovered weapons and ammunition have been seized, while further investigation and legal proceedings are underway.
The latest recovery is part of a series of operations conducted by security forces across Bijapur district this month, targeting hidden Maoist arms, ammunition and supply dumps.
On September 20, security personnel recovered an AK-47, a .315-bore rifle, a single-shot weapon and a pistol, along with live ammunition and magazines, from the forests of Aadwara under Bhairamgarh police station limits.
Earlier, on September 16, forces seized a .315-bore rifle, 49 live rounds, 25 live .303 rounds, 49 live 12-bore rounds, eight kg of gelatin, a walkie-talkie and other tools from the forests of Bade-Aalwara under Farsegarh police station.
On September 10, seven bundles of non-electric wire, detonators and grenades were recovered from different locations in the forests of Indripal under Mirtur police station.
On September 1, security personnel found a 12-bore country-made pistol, a BGL launcher, eight BGL shells, 10 live 12-bore rounds and other materials from a Maoist dump in the forests of Neelmadgu under Bhopalpatnam police station limits.
Across various operations in Bijapur during September, security forces have so far recovered one LMG, one AK-47, one INSAS rifle, two .315-bore weapons, one 12-bore weapon, three BGL launchers and two pistols, besides substantial quantities of explosives, ammunition and other Maoist-related materials.
Officials said search and de-mining operations would continue in the sensitive forest areas of the district.