A major facility run by Maoists to make weapons and explosives aimed at security forces has been destroyed in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh, a police officer said on Saturday. Acting on specific intelligence, a combined team of the Sukma District Force and the 203rd battalion of CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action), a special wing of the CRPF, traced the illegal unit of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) on a forest hill near Koimenta village on Friday, he added.
Large haul of arms-making machines and materials
The team seized a big stock of machines and raw materials from the site. Items found include a vertical milling machine, two barrel grenade launchers (BGL), 12 empty BGL shells, 94 BGL heads, a hand grinder, six wooden rifle butts, one trigger mechanism for a muzzle-loader, another trigger mechanism with pistol grip, four solar batteries, a 10-foot borewell drilling bit, two gas cutter heads, three pipes for directional IEDs (improvised explosive devices), six metal moulding pots, six iron cutter wheels, 80 steel pipes for BGL, a large amount of iron scraps and other goods, the officer said.
Security operations continue to weaken Maoists
He further said the patrol team began its mission from the Metaguda camp and all security staff returned safely after the search operation. Such operations will increase in the future as ongoing anti-Naxal actions have badly hurt the Maoists’ strength. This year alone, 249 Naxalites have been killed in separate encounters in Chhattisgarh. Among them was Nambala Keshav Rao alias Basavaraju (70), the general secretary and top leader of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), along with five central committee members.
Out of the total, 220 were killed in the Bastar division, which has seven districts including Sukma. Another 27 were shot dead in Gariaband district under Raipur division, and two more were eliminated in Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki district in Durg division, according to police.
