NIA begins probe into loot of explosives by Maoists
A team of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday started a probe into the loot of huge quantity of explosives by Maoists in Sundargarh district, an officer said.
Rourkela: A team of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday started a probe into the loot of huge quantity of explosives by Maoists in Sundargarh district, an officer said. Senior NIA officers, including a DIG, SP and Additional SP visited Rourkela. The NIA has started the investigation into the loot of around 200 packets of gelatin being transported to a stone quarry at Banko in Sundargarh district on Tuesday by the Maoists.
“The Odisha police is providing all required assistance to the NIA for undertaking the probe into the loot of explosives,” DIG, Western Range, Brijesh Rai told reporters in Rourkela. He said the police have registered a case in this regard based on the statement of the driver of the truck which was transporting the explosive materials. The loot took place in the area in close vicinity to Saranda forests in adjacent West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand, considered the hotbed of Maoists. The armed miscreants reportedly threatened the driver at gunpoint and asked him to drive into a nearby forest, where a group of Maoists looted approximately four tonnes of explosives. Though the truck carrying the material was recovered during a search operation on Wednesday, there was no trace of the explosives, an officer said. The truck driver said the Hindi-speaking Maoists spared him after he pleaded for mercy.
Police sources said there were indications of involvement of Jharkhand-based Maoists in the explosive loot incident.
The DIG said the Maoists might have entered Sundargarh from neighbouring Jharkhand. Rai said as per the direction of DGP Yogesh Bahadur Khurania, who visited the spot on Wednesday, the police have launched a search operation.
On Wednesday, Khurania along with IGP (Operation) Deepak Kumar, DIG Brijesh Rai and Sundargarh SP Pratyush Diwakar held a series of closed-door meetings and reviewed the situation.
Meanwhile, the Odisha police, along with security personnel of Jharkhand and CRPF, intensified operations on Odisha-Jharkhand border.
The DGP has directed strict adherence to the existing Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) or guidelines regarding security measures for agencies engaged in trade of explosives. He also ordered a security audit of all such centres.
