IED defused in Dantewada, Maoist dump unearthed on Kanker-Narayanpur border

Raipur: Even as the security establishment projects Chhattisgarh’s anti-Naxal campaign in its final phase, security forces continue to recover hidden explosives, weapons and Maoist dumps from the forests of Bastar, underlining that remnants of the insurgency still lie buried beneath the ground

In a major anti-Maoist operation on Saturday, security personnel recovered and defused a five-kg pressure cooker IED from the forests of Hidpal in Dantewada district, averting a possible attack on troops engaged in area domination exercises.

The explosive was detected during a joint search operation conducted by the CRPF, bomb disposal squad (BDS) and civil police based on specific intelligence inputs received a day earlier.

Officials said the operation was carried out under the supervision of second-in-command Vikrant Verma and assistant commandant Sanjeev Kumar Yadav. During combing operations in the Hidpal forest area, personnel spotted a suspicious object concealed inside dense vegetation.

The area was immediately cordoned off and BDS experts safely neutralised the IED on the spot using controlled technical procedures. Security teams later conducted further searches in nearby forest patches before returning safely to the base camp.

In another operation along the Kanker-Narayanpur border, joint teams of police, DRG, BSF and BDS personnel recovered a concealed Maoist dump from hilly forest terrain between Pallahur and Japmarka villages.

According to officials, the cache contained a country-made BGL launcher, 25 BGL shells, improvised fire cartridges, gunpowder, large sutli bombs, detonators, wires, Naxal uniforms, a solar charger, medical kits and other logistical supplies.

Separate search operations in the forests of Markabeda, Adnar and Elur villages in Chhotebethiya also led to the recovery of a large quantity of explosive material, including hundreds of electric and non-electric detonators.

Security officials said the repeated recoveries indicate that although Maoist networks have suffered major setbacks in recent months and Naxal influence has sharply declined, hidden arms and explosive stockpiles continue to remain buried in remote forest corridors across the Bastar region.