Bijapur, Security forces have recovered a cache of arms, ammunition and explosives, including a Chinese hand grenade, concealed in the past by Maoists in the forest areas of Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district, police said on Tuesday.
The latest recovery was made during a search and demining operation conducted this month in the Lanka Pahadi forest under the Bedre police station limits, a police official said.
The recovered materials include one Self Loading Rifle (SLR), one INSAS rifle, one .315-bore gun, two barrel grenade launchers (BGLs), 17 BGL shells, one Chinese hand grenade, 49 rounds of SLR, 15 rounds of .315-bore rifle, four SLR magazines and one .315-bore magazine, he said.
Other materials and equipment were also seized from the dump, the official said.
The recovered arms and other materials have been seized following due procedure and further investigation is underway, he said.
The official said security forces have recovered several Maoist dumps hidden earlier in different operations in Bijapur during September.
On September 20, an AK-47, a .315-bore weapon, a single-shot firearm, a pistol, live ammunition and magazines were recovered from the forested area in Bhairamgarh police station limits, he said.
Similarly, on September 16, security forces recovered a .315-bore rifle, 49 live rounds, 25 live .303 rounds, 49 live 12-bore rounds, 8 kg of gelatin, a walkie-talkie and other tools and equipment from the forested area under Farsegarh police station limits, he said.
On September 10, non-electrical wire in seven bundles, detonators and grenades were recovered from different locations in the Indripaal forest under Mirtur police station limits, while security forces recovered a country-made 12-bore gun, a BGL launcher, eight BGL shells, 10 live 12-bore rounds and other materials from a Maoist dump in the Neelmadgu forest under Bhopalpatnam police station limits on September 1,, the official said.
After Chhattisgarh was declared as free from armed Maoist presence on March 31, security forces have intensified search operations across the Bastar region, comprising seven districts, including Bijapur, to trace cash, weapons and explosives hidden by Maoists in the past, the police said.
