Cops suspect corporate hand in explosives haul

MALKANGIRI: After huge haul of explosives, including 24 gelatin sticks, the security agencies are now on a job to ascertain how the explosives reached the Maoists. In a joint combing operation on Monday, the 107 Battalion of Border Security Force, District voluntary Forces (DVF) and Special Operation Group (SOG) commandos raided an abandoned place near Khalguda village, bordering Andhra Pradesh and Koraput district, under Mudulipada police limits and seized the explosives.Faced with an alarming number of recoveries of arms and ammunition from Maoist hideouts during the routine anti-Maoist operation in the recent past, security agencies have launched a probe to find out whether the explosives meant for industries are being smuggled to the Left wing extremists in the district. It is certainly a matter of concern for us that the explosives manufactured by the industrial houses for the purpose of mining, tunnelling, quarrying, dam construction and seismic exploration are reaching the Maoists, said a top cop of the district requesting anonymity. “This is a very serious issue. We suspect that many of these smuggled explosives are used to target police forces engaged in anti-Maoist operations. Hence, we have ordered a probe,” a source said. Security agencies have long been suspecting that unused explosives procured by the industries reach the hands of Maoists either through pilferage or through intimidation.  There is no proper mechanism, sources said, to take note of how many explosives are used in a particular explosion carried out for industrial purposes. If any industry claims that it uses 100 kg explosives in a month, there is no way to find out whether that unit actually used that much of explosives, the police said. There is also possibility of an industry operating in the Maoist belt getting intimidated and pass on the unused explosives to Maoists or procuring more explosives than it actually requires, the sources said.  Several explosive stores in the Maoist-hit areas have come under attack in the past. One such mine in Orissa’s Damanjodi was attacked by the Maoists in 2009 where 10 CISF personnel were killed.