Bhubaneswar, Jan 23: CRPF and Chhattisgarh Police’s CoBRA jawans unearthed an illegal gun factory and seized a large cache of explosives and weapon-making materials from a forest in Sukma district, near the Odisha-Chhattisgarh border, on Thursday. Among the items recovered were multi-barrel grenade launchers, 21 IEDs, bombs, generators, and medical supplies, all discovered in a Maoist hideout during a joint operation. It is suspected that the Maoists were manufacturing weapons within the forest to target security forces.

According to Chhattisgarh Police officials, the success of the operation was attributed to the effectiveness of the canine squad and the bomb disposal team. This discovery marks a second major blow to the Maoists in the region within a week. Over the past four days, CoBRA jawans, Odisha Police’s SOG, and CRPF neutralized at least 14 Maoists in Gariaband district near the Odisha-Chhattisgarh border. Among those killed was Jayaram alias Chalpati, a senior CPI(Maoist) Central Committee member carrying a bounty of Rs 1 crore.

Odisha DGP YB Khurania visited Kalahandi and Nuapada on Wednesday to review the situation following the joint anti-Naxal operation. Authorities fear potential retaliation by the Maoists after suffering such significant losses at the hands of security forces.

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