Daijiworld Media Network - Kolkata
Kolkata, Nov 10: The Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), in a joint operation with the Bihar Police, busted a hidden Naxal arms dump at Simratri village in Lakhisarai district on Tuesday, recovering a carbine, ammunition and tactical equipment.
The operation was conducted by personnel of the SSB's 29th Battalion along with local police personnel. Among the seized items were a carbine, several rounds of ammunition and a binocular.
The SSB has been involved in similar operations in the past. On October 7, troops of the same battalion, in coordination with Bihar Police, unearthed another concealed arms and ammunition dump in the Dhangai-Teletand forest area of Gaya district.
The recovery at that time included a 9mm carbine, two country-made guns, pistol magazines, a 5-watt radio telephony set, 79 rounds of 9mm ammunition and 13 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition.
An official explained that during the period of active Maoist insurgency, cadres would carefully pack weapons, ammunition and other equipment and store them at strategic locations for use at short notice.
Such caches were created when Maoist cadres moved out of forested areas to interact with local residents and gather intelligence.
"Now that the insurgency has been effectively countered, security agencies have to trace such dumps and seize the weapons," the official said.
Similar recoveries have been reported from Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Odisha, with explosive substances also seized during some operations.
According to officials, although the top Maoist leadership has either surrendered, been eliminated or arrested, several lower-level cadres may have escaped and returned to the mainstream without informing the authorities.
Such former members could still know the locations of hidden arms caches and potentially use the weapons for criminal activities. There is also a possibility that criminal gangs could stumble upon these concealed dumps and gain access to the weapons.
"The recovery of the weapons is crucial. Surrendered and arrested Naxalites are often urged to reveal their locations. Some of the stores are found during combing operations. Sometimes the dumps are found by locals who enter the forests. While a Naxal Mukt Bharat has been achieved, all weapons will also have to be accounted for," the official said.
Similar search and seizure operations are also being conducted in Manipur and other insurgency-affected states. Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), including the SSB, are participating in these operations alongside the respective state police forces.