Bijapur, 22 September (H.S.): Security forces recovered a large quantity of arms, ammunition and other material from a Maoist dump during a search operation in the forests of Bijapur district in Chhattisgarh, police said on Tuesday.

The recovery was made from a forest area near the hills of Lanka village under the Bedre police station limits. Security personnel were conducting search and de-mining operations in the area when they detected a suspicious location and recovered the underground dump.

Deputy Superintendent of Police (Operations) Siddharth Singh Chauhan said continuous search and de-mining operations were being conducted in Bijapur and weapons and ammunition had been recovered during operations carried out on different dates in September.

The latest recovery included one SLR/LMG rifle, one INSAS rifle, one .315-bore gun, two BGL launchers, 17 BGL shells, one Chinese hand grenade, 49 live SLR rounds, 15 rounds of .315-bore ammunition, 15 BGL cartridges, four SLR magazines and one .315-bore magazine, besides other materials and equipment.

Police said efforts were underway to identify those linked to the seizure. Security forces have continued search operations across Bijapur district during September and recovered several Maoist dumps.

On September 20, an AK-47, .315-bore weapons, a single-shot pistol, live cartridges and magazines were recovered from the Adwara forest area under Bhairamgarh police station.

Earlier, on September 16, security forces recovered a .315-bore rifle, 49 live rounds, 25 live .303 rounds, 49 live 12-bore rounds, around eight kg of gelatin, walkie-talkies and other equipment from the Bade Aalwada forest area under Farsegarh police station.

On September 10, seven bundles of non-electric wire, detonators and grenades were recovered from the Indripal forest area under Mirtur police station.

On September 1, a country-made 12-bore pistol, a BGL launcher, eight BGL shells, 10 live 12-bore rounds and other material were recovered from a Maoist dump in the Neelmadgu forest area under Bhopalpatnam police station.

Following the recovery at Lanka Pahadi, security forces have intensified surveillance and search operations in the region.

Bijapur Police have appealed to people to immediately inform the authorities if they come across any suspicious objects or materials.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar