Post News Network
Berhampur, Jan 25: Ganjam police recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition during a combing operation with Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans inside the Khadisaru forest under Sorada police station late Saturday night.
Addressing the media at the office of the deputy inspector general of police (southern) Sunday, Ganjam superintendent of police (SP) Narasingha Bhol said the combing operation was conducted on the basis of information given by Orissa Maobadi Party’s former member Pramod Majhi, who surrendered before the police January 5.
Bhol said the operation started in the morning and the seizure was made around 10 pm. The seized items included three SLR guns, nine SLR magazines, 19 Insas magazines, 20 charge clips, two batteries and 793 bullets, Bhol said. The arms were buried at three different places in a radius of 500 metre, he added.
Out of the three SLR guns, Pramod used to have one, the SP said, adding the other two were used by the ultra’s aides. Police suspected that the seized guns and bullets were looted from the Nayagarh armoury. A case has been registered at Sorada police station in this connection.
Bhol also informed mediapersons that there were no ultras in the region at present. All the members the Orissa Maobadi Party have fled to other states after the organisation became weak, he said. “Combing operation will be intensified further in Ganjam-Kandhamal border jungle areas as we suspect some more arm-dumps might be located in the area,” the SP said. Pramod will be kept in police custody for 15 more days in order to elicit more information from him on the left wing extremists and their network, Bhol said.
CRPF commandant Naresh Sharma and assistant commandant DV Sudan led the combing operation. Among others, DIG Amitabh Thakur, Berhampur superintendent of police Sarthak Sarangi and Sorada police station officer-in-charge attended the press meet.
